


Life is Strange: Children of the Storm

by Runningfromthestorm



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Crime, Death, Drama, Drinking, F/F, Guns, Original Characters - Freeform, Romance, Violence, pricefield, slow burning storyline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2018-11-17 13:42:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 35,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11276460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Runningfromthestorm/pseuds/Runningfromthestorm
Summary: A week has passed since Arcadia Bay's ruination. Survivors are few, the destruction absolute... But the Storm's wrath is not yet over. Max and Chloe are trying to rebuild their lives together, but with any disaster comes a great upheaval... and they learn the past does not always stay buried. Direct Sequel to Sacrifice Arcadia Bay.





	1. 7 Days Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max and Chloe's first day of their new lives in Seattle in the Caulfield home.  
> First two Chapters are fluffy, mature content is incoming- Slow burning storyline.

 

_**October 18th 2013** _

_**Seattle** _

**House Warming ~ Part One**

"Chloe!" Max yelled out, removing the whistling kettle from the stove as she poured two cups full boiling water, savoring the aroma of coffee suddenly filling her nostrils "Coffee's done!"

A series of thuds rang out before a voice that put a smile of Max's lips finally called back the words "I'm coming!" and the brunette plucked the two mugs from the counter, distinctly hearing the sudden hiss of the shower's hot water cutting off as she made her way across the black and white tiled kitchen floor. Max practically bounced on her tip toes with every step, regretting her choice to come down barefoot now she was staring into the face of potential frostbite. _This floor was hella cold! It's no wonder Dad keeps those ancient slippers in here,_ Max mused to herself, throwing a candid glance in their direction. They always sat there in the corner, beaten and worn from over use and age, but it looked as though a dog had turned them into a chew toy for a period... the thought of putting her feet in them only fleetingly crossed her mind, before it was quickly catapulted out. _Better frostbite than Tutankhamun's slip-ons,_ Max resolved with a giggle and a nod.

Sitting herself down at the marble top of her mother's breakfast bar, Max hooked her feet on her stool's supports and pulled up another seat beside her for the soon-to-arrive latecomer. Max would be alone for a while she knew, which was just fine by her anyway. She had made two coffees for two people, she sure as hell wasn't going to be drinking alone, so it was good job patience was one of her virtues... beside which, it worked for her secret plan.

With a snap of her fingers an invisible lightbulb illuminated over Max's head "Can't forget that!" she reminded herself, and after throwing a wary eye down the corridor, she slowly sat a little gingerbread man down next to Chloe's mug. It had been hidden in the bread bin all morning, Max didn't want to run the risk of the latecomer ruining the little surprise... and so, with everything lined up perfect, Max resigned herself to drumming her fingers on the marble as she waited.

Today was in truth a more refined incarnation of the day before, when they had finally moved into their new digs, well... the Caulfield's digs, and Max resolved to include a gingerbread man with the first coffee or tea of the day. This resolution was an easy one to make for Max, and came on the back of the hellish week gone by. After a week of nothing but struggling, rain, and tears, seeing the blue haired girl's face illuminate with the simple pleasure of something as sweet as the gingerbread man Max offered her as a house warming gift was an image that Max couldn't shake from her head, and was more vivid than any Polaroid.

It couldn't be shaken, not that Max wanted to... in fact quite the opposite. She clutched to that memory like the last flicker of a dying flame in a cold night, never wanting it to leave her... and even if Max wouldn't admit it, today's special gingerbread man's icing blue hair and beanie were certainly an indication to that fact.

 _A little extra effort goes a long way, besides, she deserves it,_ Max thought as she smiled to herself.

Sat quietly Max blew her coffee cool with no real conviction. The house was still, with no Vanessa or Ryan Caulfield busying about there was no incessant business phonecalls from her mother and the television had sat stone cold in the absence of her father, all there was, was the sound of Max humming in boredom and the muffled chatter upstairs behind closed doors. No doubt she's speaking to Joyce, Max knew. Since the Storm Max had noticed that was all her best friend did when she and Max weren't together, and in all honestly Max couldn't blame her. The Storm took so much its a miracle it didn't take Joyce, not like it took the Two Whales... and almost everything, and everyone, else.

Finally, after a full day of being back and seeing nothing but her best friend, Max afforded herself a paced but studious look around the spacious kitchen of her parent's house, peering at the minimalist decor that seemed dominant in theme. There had always been an artistic flair among the Caulfields, Max's paternal grandfather had been a hobbiest painter and photographer himself, but this flair was perhaps not so well characterized and personified until the arrival of Max, or at least that's what her father thought. While she never believed him, she always loved him for that.

That roaming eye found itself next in the hallway, panning lazily over the frames that hung meticulously in simple black frames down the span of the corridor, until something about one snagged her eye. Then another, then another, leading to a domino effect as her eyes bounced from frame to frame in surprise.

"I don't believe it" Max mumbled with an incredulously amused chortle as she finally noticed that what hung in the frames was her own photography, snaps taken from her days living in Seattle before moving back to Arcadia Bay to study, and displayed proudly by her parents for whatever guests to see. It triggered an ambivalence in Max, who was completely unaware whether she should be mortified, or flattered by the pride of her parents.

Truth be told though as she sat there in that kitchen, soaking in what was once her home of several years, she couldn't help but feel out of place... as though there was a constant sense of vertigo hovering around her.

It all felt so alien, and that was when it truly sank in, and Max let out a muted astonished puff.

 _Wowsers... I'm actually back in Seattle,_ Max thought, barely able to come to terms with that knowledge as she just sat there, casually blowing cooling breaths against the skin of her hot coffee in delicate gusts. It was as though things had come full circle to her, which was an uncomfortable thought... and as though detecting her discomfort her fingers began flex of their own volition and fidget with the corner of a photography magazine strewn upon the table. Her mother's. Max smiled as she reached for it, a welcome distraction from the nope-train that was her current thought process.

 _Well, well, well, Vanessa Caulfield, i'm impressed... seems a bit advanced for you, but A+ for effort,_ inquisitively Max slid the magazine towards her and gave it a quick flick through. It was last month's edition of 'Neo-Polaroid', a mag that Max herself never really took that much of a shine too... too modern, not quite traditional for her tastes in cameras, but Max couldn't help a chuckle as she idly flipped through the pages. Clearly her mother never intended for anyone but her to read it, if the bold red annotated circles plastered with 'WTF!?' were any indicator.

 _Oh mom, I wonder how much of this you actually understood? Some of this even makes my head spin._ Shaking her head in amusement Max felt a grin spread upon her lips as it dawned upon her it was that same line of questioning that probably prompted her mother to leave the mag discarded on the breakfast bar in the first place. Then she turned the page and her heart skipped a beat as her gaze couldn't help but zero in on its content, like a moth to the flame.

Her grin faltered, fading to a bittersweet smile, before it eventually flickered out into a sorrowful shell of what it was.

_Oh..._

Max's azure eyes felt themselves soften as their gaze sat squarely on an article, and her fingers traced the contents of the small photo that accompanied it fondly, the photo that had snagged all of her attention- the article may as well had been nothing but jumbled letters.

"Welcome to Arcadia Bay..." she whispered aloud as she read the pictured sign, and as the image consumed her the rest of the article and indeed the world around her just faded away, and in her heart, there was that familiar sense fondness. A sense of place, a sense of longing... a sense of home; it was almost as though she was back there by the Lighthouse, with the sun bathing her face in its amber hued warmth.

For a moment she could have sworn she actually was there with the wind on her face and the sound of calm seas and squawking seagulls in her ears, only to be ruined by the blaring car horns of Seattle. _It'll never be the same._ The Caulfield House's alien vibe immediately tripled in the wake of her corrupted reverie, and Max felt a tingling knot of anxiety in her chest.

Traitorous tears began to gather in their masses behind her eyes, beating at the window hoping to break the looking glass, and her breath hitched.

 _Seattle isn't home,_ she thought, _It isn't Arcadia Bay, that place is gone... because of me._

The house was alive with sound as though it had emerged from the ether, and it was only when the sound of thuds coming loudly down the stairs did the lights in the theater of Max's head return to full brightness, blinding her for an instant as reality jarringly returned and quickly she wiped her eyes and closed the magazine... only to toss it into the nearby bin. _Thanks for nothing, 'Neo-Shit.'_

"'Sup Max?" that voice sent a wave through Max, and as Chloe Price entered her vision Max felt the warmest smile spread across her face, and it only grew bigger when the grinning Price sat herself down on that neighboring stool, and planted a kiss on Max's toasty cheeks "Damn girl, you look like you've seen a ghost"

The accuracy of the comment forced a chortle from Max, _Yeah, you can say that again._

"I'm just spaced out this morning" Max said as she took a sip of her coffee, watching Chloe get settled as she stuffed her phone away. She hadn't noticed the gingerbread man yet, Max sadly noted as she sipped away some of her disappointment "You look good, Price"

Chloe looked over herself before her eyes did the same to Max, and she felt the knot uncoil in her chest, and found itself replaced by something much more gratifying. Max almost shied away from the wink that followed, almost.

"I see your powers of observation still work, Caulfield!" Chloe quipped with a wink "And a week of wearing almost one outfit and barely showering takes its toll, Maximillian. I almost forgot how good hot water feels" Chloe rubbed her arms as the memory triggered goose-flesh and Max laughed knowingly, she'd had her first shower of the week last night, whereas Chloe had simply blacked out. The week that followed the Storm had not been kind to either of the dynamic duo.

Unwilling to think back to the bygone week, Max instead craftily threw an appreciative sidelong glance at Chloe- she was wearing a baggy blue plaid blouse and a pair of sleep shorts barely visible beneath the length of the shirt, the sleeves of which she had folded up numerous times to the elbow in an attempt to ensure some practicality... and the smell of blueberry shampoo hung thick in the air, clinging to those damp cerulean locks. Max felt almost inadequate sat beside Chloe clad in a small Pajama shirt and pants with a puppy in a party head dominating the latter in a repeating pattern.

 _Wowsers..._ the thought of Storm Week entirely petered out, replaced by Chloe's smiling face and the smell of berries. The only thing Max wanted now was her camera from upstairs, but alas, her memory would have to do. Her gaze hovered on Chloe, lost to her own swelling thoughts and feelings; hands nervously toyed with the handle of her cup like a bashful teenager, which in her defense, she was- the Storm hadn't taken that from her.

 _She was worth it. She was always worth it._ With a deep breath Max felt her spirit return to her.

"As for spacing out? Well, me too" Max finally heard as Chloe continued, giving Max a playful punch on the shoulder as she took a mouthful of coffee and swallowed it down "I got off the horn with Joyce just then by the way, she called when I was drying my hair"

Max placed down her mug upon hearing that, trailing its rim with a fingertip while her other hand gestured for Chloe to continue "She's got hooks in a small place, aint nothing hella fancy, but it's not too far... looks like she'll probably have it by week's end, all going well"

"That's great, Chloe! The Prices' were due for some good luck, it had to come sooner or later" Chloe's lithe fingers entwined with Max's own "Any other news from the Front?"

A low sigh grumbled free of Chloe then, and with a nod she swallowed another mouthful of her coffee with a worn look etched on her face

"Yeah, we got some news finally on my Step-Do..." the word caught in Chloe's throat, and she corrected herself "...Step-Father"

Max's grip on Chloe's hands tightened like a vice, _it's about time!_ Honestly Max was beginning to wonder if they'd hear anything at all, but the sudden squeeze brought a wide eyed look of alarm out of Chloe and a smirk of surprise "Easy there, Mad Max, if you break my hand it won't be much good to you now will it?"

The blue haired girl laughed aloud when an embarrassed Max shoulder barged her, almost knocking the taller girl from her stool... but the laugh abated when it was met by the reproachful gaze of the Caulfield. _Get talking,_ she spoke through her look, and despite the meager smile on her lips, Chloe got the message loud and clear and cleared her throat.

"So, yeah... he's finally been moved from the relief station outside Arcadia Bay to an actual fucking hospital in Portland" For a moment the two sat in silence, forgetting about their cooling drinks with the topic at hand demanding their attention fully.

"How's Joyce taking it?" Max asked cautiously

"She doesn't know, Max... but she's going down to see him tomorrow, apparently his mother is too. Joyce is thrilled about that." tone flat and pinching her temples in one hand, Chloe gave Max's hand a gentle squeeze of her own "Despite kicking him to the curb for the 'Madsen Cam-Show', they are still married... so a part of her must still care, I guess. I don't know dude, Joyce hasn't said much about it, i think its still kind raw for her"

Max nodded, she got that. Oh wowsers did she get that.

"And how are you taking it?" the question seemed to take Chloe back a little as her face momentarily became unreadable, wanting to say a million different things as the desire to be snarky conflicted with the want to be genuine... but then she sighed a little, lifted Max's hand up in front of her face, and Max felt a little warmth enter her cheeks as she watched the bluenette trace the contours of those knuckles with the tip of her nose before laying an appreciative kiss on the back of her hand.

"Honestly, Maxaroni? I hope he'll be okay" Chloe admitted, though the hesitation in her tone told Max she wasn't too comfortable doing so "But other than that, I don't know, I don't exactly like the guy but he doesn't deserve to be in a fucking coma for being a dick, y'know? And despite... everything... he did seem to love Joyce. So for that, i hope he'll be okay, i guess"

Chloe's admission roused a degree of pride in Max, and the smaller girl leaned forward and planted a kiss on Price's cheek in return for it. Feeling victorious the moment that blush appeared where her lips touched down, Max beamed at her

"What was that for?" Chloe asked, happily bemused. Max shrugged honestly before replying

"You always surprise me, Chlo... you're my punk, full of tats and 'tude" that last bit made Chloe's eyes playfully roll and Max continued "but you're also my Chloe, my hella cool Chloe... and you have a humility and sweetness that runs so deep. I love that about you... that's what it was for"

Leaning forward Max was met half way by Chloe as they shared a brief kiss chased by growing goofy smiles- until Chloe's smile transformed into a wry smirk and she cleared her throat

"I'll always be hella cool, Maximus. Yours though? I don't know, did you brand me in my sleep?" Chloe chuckled at the narrowing gaze of Max, and couldn't help but giggle at the sharp nudge to her ribs from the smaller girl

"I just might, Chloe Elizabeth Price. Right on your ass, it'll read 'Property of Max Caulfield'" Max said with a wicked wink, and rose from her stool. She moved around the breakfast bar, giving the laughing Chloe a tight squeeze around her shoulders before heading into the hallway towards the stairs "Come on, I promised mom and dad we'd finish our unpacking today and I'd rather no-"

"Whoa! Hella cool, Max!" the sudden excited blurt out from Chloe caught Max's attention like a fish on a hook, almost yanking her headfirst over the staircase as she peered into the kitchen... only to spot a bouncing Chloe, clutching her personalized gingerbread man like it was made of solid gold "Did you make this for me?"

 _That fucking goofball,_ with even Max's internal voice thoroughly smitten, she couldn't help gaily shaking her head at the level of cuteness she was witnessing. With a quiet giggle, Max nodded in response. Chloe almost exploded. _That confirms it, gingerbread men are now definitely a thing._

"Yeah, it even has some marijuana in it, you know... just for that extra authenticity. It is a Gingerbread Chloe, after all, it has to be 'dank, brah'"

Normally Chloe would be up Max's ass about trying out such words, but it had been one other word in that sentence that had left the blue punk wide eyed and in shock.

"No fucking way Max, are you serious? You made a Space Gingerbread Chloe?" Price's face filled with childish glee, practically giving off its own light as her mouth hung open she struggled to find words in her excitement, bouncing back and forth on spring-loaded heels.

"It's so hardcore, oh my god Max, it's so hella-!" it was only then, mid-sentence, that Chloe noticed Max's face had contorted in on itself. As though sucking on a lemon, Max's lips had simply disappeared inwards and her eye was twitching with the effort to suppress laughter, cheeks aflame with scarlet, dying to contain her lungs- and immediately Chloe's face dropped with realization, and her dank soul fled from her body like water from a broken bong.

"...It's just normal gingerbread isn't it?"

"Yep!" the word almost exploded from Max and she screeched as one of those decrepit slippers came hurtling at her from the kitchen. Narrowly dodging the slipper it slapped hard against the wall, and Max's scream of fright transformed into a mad howl of celebratory laughter. She had got Chloe good!

It was only when Chloe scowled with a begrudging smirk and suddenly moved towards the stairs that Max took off like a bat out hell up the steps to her room, giggling every step of the way "You're face was PRICEless, Chlo! Don't worry, next time the Girl Scouts from Bespin come round, I'll get a fresh batch!"

"From Hell's Heart I stab at thee, Max Caulfield!" Chloe shouted from below, but Max was too busy collapsed against her bed wheezing with laughter to truly notice. In her victorious throes of giggling she even failed to hear that the disgruntled and slow footfalls that were now coming sullenly up the steps were getting louder.

Max almost felt bad as she eased herself to her feet, catching her breath as she wiped her eyes. Almost. Then she started laughing again, only to nearly scream in surprise when she spotted Chloe standing like a silent specter and staring back at her in the doorway.

What came next came in a flurry, a blur of motion as Chloe slammed the door shut behind her in under a second had closed the distance between herself and Max, and tackled the latter into the bed. Hands roamed and Max found her giggles subsiding into breathy pants as she lay there beneath Chloe... looking up into those striking eyes that looked back into her with a burning passion that illuminated those sapphire orbs from behind, and yet despite their light, were a total mystery in the moment. Max's breathing quickened as Chloe lowered herself, her bare thighs straddling Max's hips, and Max's eyes fluttered shut as Chloe's lips found themselves at her ear "I'll chase you round Perdition's Flames before I give you up..."

 _What?_ Max cracked an eye open, her inquisitiveness immediately giving way to dread the moment she found one of Chloe's own looking back at her with serpentine amusement. _Oh no._

Chloe reared back and yelled out "From hell's heart, I stab at thee, Max! I stab at thee!"

Lunging in Chloe clawed at Max's kidneys and underarms in unrelenting attacks, her talons working their sinister magic, drawing loose breathless laughs from Max who despite all her want to resist and escape, knew it was too late. She was pinned, and decidedly at the mercy of Chloe Noonien Singh's superior tickling skills.

"Chloe-! Stop-! No Fair-!" Max she could barely gasp out between defeated laughter, kicking and flailing, before her best Shatner rolled free in one final howl of melodramatic defeat "CHLOEEE!"

"I stab at thee!"

Their laughter blurred together, and the day gradually moved on without them. It was the start of a brand new life, together. They had all the time in the world, for the first time in two weeks; time was finally on their side.

Though perhaps the large Moth, that had been beating with impotent aggression against the glass of their window for the past hour unnoticed, was not.

* * *

**_Author's Note ~ Thanks for reading! If you like, please leave a comment, let me know your thoughts Critique welcome!  
This is going to be a big story ^^_ **


	2. Treasure Trove

**Later that evening...**

_**House Warming ~ Part 2** _

Several hours had passed and Vanessa and Ryan Caulfield had returned from work, and while downstairs the house had become alive with energy, upstairs had settled into a quiet serenity.

The golden light of the Seattle sunset was streaming in with pinkish tints through the battered stars and stripes that hung in Max's room, and as though coaxed by the gentle rays Max drifted back into consciousness.

"Guess I must have passed out..." she whispered to herself, rubbing her eyes as she sat up on that double bed of hers and felt a prang of loneliness as she blindly pawed for a Chloe that wasn't there... her heart jumped in her throat, but the instant she heard the alluring sound of Chloe's peaceful breathing, she instantly unwound _._

After a week of sleeping in a cot, mere feet from several others, being in that expansive bed she once called her own felt like being in the middle of an island, and despite the luxuries of such comfortable sheets and pillows, she couldn't shake the feeling of isolation as she sat there in the wake of such memories.

"Correction, Caulfield" she muttered quietly, looking over her bed once more as a thought entered her mind "It isn't just my bed now, not anymore- its ours."

The thought made her smile groggily, caught up in the ambient glow of the room around her. With Chloe's flag draped over the window her memories floated back to Arcadia Bay, of the times spent in Chloe's room, thrashing the place or playing Nancy Drew... but one memory stood out like a shining star, its radiance alone, elevating it above the others.

" _Stop second-guessing yourself, Max!" Chloe insisted, her face warmer than the sun pouring in as she gave Max a firm but playful shake of the shoulders with a wide grin "Put this on and let your inner punk-rock girl come out! You can afford to take chances!"_

_Max had to resist the urge to fold her arms, to shoot Chloe that reproachful look she mastered so long ago, but instead she just found herself smiling at the girl pushing her to be bold. Her spirit sang in resonance with Chloe's words, her mind finally hearing its own words spoken back to her- more or less. The blue punk had her own way with words that Max couldn't ever hope to truly match._

_Max's attention never once waned._

" _Whenever and whatever you want to try..." in that pause Max saw Chloe's eyes light up in a way that made her knees mysteriously weak "...for example, I dare you to kiss me!"_

SHE WANTS ME TO WHAT, _were there words Max remembered exploding into her mind with such force that she couldn't help but stammer "What?" in real life, much to Chloe's own amusement as she stood there, eyes alight with something Max couldn't decipher. Then again, her own were lit up like a deer in the headlights._

" _I double dare you. Kiss me now."_

_There was barely a pause before Max's body acted of its own volition, with a will that bent her mind to its desire her heart drove a bold step forward that she didn't know she had in her, not until her hands had found themselves eagerly nestled on Chloe's shoulders, and Max brought lips against Chloe's own._

_Five years apart culminated in the explosion of a star in Max's heart that shook the very foundations of who she believed she was, and suddenly, everything was so much more colourful. She wanted to just stop time and hover in that moment forever- the storm could be damned._

_It appeared not even Chloe expected it, because as stepped back in surprise there was a look of genuine shock that Max immediately and fearfully took as something wrong,_ Oh fuck, oh no, oh wowser, oh god, don't hate me! You dared me, double dared me! _Anxiety balled in her gut before she realised her arms were still floating to her sides as though beneath water... and then Chloe spoke._

" _Damn, you're hardcore Max! Now I can text Warren and tell him he doesn't stand a chance..."_

"He never did, Chlo" Max whispered as her thoughts drifted back to reality, her loving gaze finding its way crawling to the couch and the person upon it "He never did"

With a grunt of effort Max pushed herself from the bed and grabbed her camera from the bookshelf, tiptoeing each step of the way as she moved around the bed and sat herself down at the bottom of it to truly admire her blue haired best friend.

Chloe was draped languidly across the couch, half-covered in a book she had been reading before she nodded off into a gentle sleep. She looked so serene and peaceful that Max felt her heart swell, just wanting to reach out and brush the strands of hair from that enrapturing face, just like all that sappy shit in the movies that both she and Chloe claimed to loathe. The thing is though, Max didn't mind the sap like Chloe did, to Max, Chloe deserved the romance... the love.

 _We both do,_ Max knew. They had worked fucking hard to get it, Max knew this too... probably better than anyone, she'd wager.

The moment was too perfect to lose, and so, gingerly, Max raised her camera, lined up the shot, and took one single solitary photo. The flash basked Chloe for an instant, and as soon as that Polaroid emerged Max gleefully moved to hide it away for fear of the image's abduction.

"Dude... what the fuck..." a tired groan of a voice came from behind as Max stuffed the Polaroid in her copy of 'Sleeping Beauty' and crammed it back in the bookshelf with a smirk of satisfaction on her face, _she'll never find it now._

"Did you take a picture?" Max shrugged in mock ignorance, and without denying it she simply walked over, lifted Chloe's legs, sat herself down on the couch and pulled those long limbs across her lap. Chloe had her head in her hands, grumbling as she rubbed her eyes

"Sweet dreams, Chloe?" the look from Chloe was initially weary, but filled swiftly with sarcastic mirth as she grunted a chortle at Max's question. Chloe shrugged.

"It might've been, it involved me, you, and the Eiffel Tower... how would you rank that, dude?" With a chuckle Max threw her arms around Chloe's waist and leaned over, lying across Price's midriff and squirming for perfect comfort like a cat... but she didn't miss the smitten, drowsy smile that crept across Chloe's lips.

"I'd say that was a hella sweet dream"

"Me too, Max... me too"

There was a tender silence for a few minutes as the two just lay with one another, and Max felt herself melt into Chloe with those fingers soothingly running themselves through her mousy locks. They could've stayed there forever...

"Maxine?"

And just like that, forever was ruined by the utterance of a detested noun.

Max bolted fearfully upright, almost ripping Chloe's legs from their sockets when she instinctively shoved them from her lap, and Chloe could barely gasp an irked "hey!" before they saw the door handle jostle before it opened- _thank god it sticks_ \- and her mother popped her head inside

"Hope I'm not intruding?" Vanessa Caulfield asked in that sort of rhetorical way parents did, and slipped half of her wiry frame through the door. Max felt her loathing briefly bubble up, and sardonically she grunted with her mother's somewhat ironically ignorant sense of humour. _Oh, if only she knew._

"No mom, me and Chloe were just talking" Max looked to Chloe, her eyes close to pleading as she faced away from her mother. Chloe stared at her for a quiet moment, seemingly lost in thought... and it wasn't until there was a slight cough from Vanessa did Price's conflicted gaze shifted upwards like the snap of a whip. Chloe simply nodded, forced smile and all.

"Always the way, lost in your own worlds- I was half expecting you both to be wearing eye-patches and leaping around the room, I'm was only partly relieved to see my house hadn't become the Jolly Rodger when i got back from work today"

"By the power of grayskull..." Max uttered under her breath, but neither she nor Chloe could suppress their smiles at Vanessa's words, and the Matriarch beamed... but something clicked in Chloe, and Max noticed it even if her mother didn't. Chloe began to fidget, and a positive energy swirled around her.

"Hey now Mrs. C, the night's still young!" Chloe called out, eliciting a chuckle and an amused head shake from Vanessa as Max sat there admittedly surprised, but pleasantly so.

"It isn't that young, Chloe" Vanessa said, her tone friendly, but holding that hint of authority that made the rebellious side of Chloe smirk, Max recognized it the moment she saw it. It brought a gentle flush of palest strawberry to her cheeks.

"Either way girls, I've come bearing news. Me and Ryan are gonna order in some pizzas tonight, we never got the chance to properly welcome you both back last night, you were both so exhausted... so to make up for it, we're eating like kings tonight. When you're ready to order, let us know what you'd both like" in a shared moment of mischievous thought, Max and Chloe's gaze connected with vulpine grins on their lips... Vanessa almost rolled her eyes, lips half curled "Just keep me posted, girls. See you both later"

"Thank you!" Chloe and Max said in purposeful unison as that door slowly shut, and quietly they listened as Vanessa's footsteps traversed the span of the landing, and with sequentially quieting thumps, vanished entirely down the steps. Alone again at last, Max felt her core burn with embarrassment and buried her face in her hands to avoid the chance of meeting Chloe's gaze.

 _I pretty much threw her off me when my mum walked in,_ she thought, wracked with guilt that would not quit as it hit her in a wave, _I love her and I can't even-_

"Yo, Earth to Max, Come in? Earth to Max do you read? Max you can come back out the Closet Nebula now, you have a Chloe eagerly waiting for you to come home" Chloe placed a hand fondly upon Max's back, giving it a little bit of a rub as Max just mewled into her palms before eventually pulling her face free, and heavily fell back into the couch once more.

"I'm sorry Chloe... I... I guess I-" she was silenced immediately by Chloe straddling her lap, and those hot damp lips sealing around her own for one blessed moment. Max's rancorous feelings just up and vanished, pushed back into the darkness with their connection, and her whole body shuddered as the tension just rolled free of her.

The kiss broke after it slowed purposefully, and disappointed Max opened her eyes with a pout, which Chloe met with a chuckle and wag of her finger. She took Max's hot cheeks in her hands then, thumbing those cheekbones comfortingly.

"Max Caulfield, you need to cut yourself some slack... this is new... I know... and we're not rushing into anything. I love you, Max. I do. I love you. So don't get bent out of shape, okay? One day you're gonna burst out the closet surrounded by rainbows and that damn door won't ever shut on you again cause you'll blow it off its damn hinges- and it'll be nearly as Amazeballs as you are" Max took those hands on her cheeks in her own, cradling them closer as she placed loving, affectionate kisses on Chloe's pale wrists. She'd almost forgot the kind of reaction she knew it summoned from the blue haired vixen, and when Chloe's breath quickened, Max felt no small sense of satisfaction and smiled broadly.

"Maybe though..." Chloe continued, clearing her throat before she spoke. Her tone trailing off snagged Max's attention and an inquisitive cock of her brow "Maybe don't sever my legs next time? I kinda like being able to walk, dude"

" _Dont forget about me..."_

_Flashes of a wheelchair, of beeping monitors, of tears in rain._

The memory muted her entirely and Max tensed up in anxiousness, unable to extinguish the frozen fire of fear and guilt in her gut. Despite the timeline having once been, and now gone, it did not stop existing to Max, how could it? It didn't take much for that paradoxical dream of a time now lost to resurface... _It'll never leave me be, will it?_ Max wondered with gritted teeth- but she wouldn't allow it to defeat her. There was so much to be thankful for, so much to be treasured... Chloe was still here.

 _My Chloe is here_. Her spirit returned to her then, the apprehension fading, and her attention settled squarely on her lifeline- Chloe.

"You got it, 'Captain' Chloe" Max said with a happy twinkle in her eye, and in that instant, Chloe's energy changed again. It became supercharged... just like it had when Vanessa mentioned the Pirates. As Chloe's began to bounce on Max's thighs, sparkling with excitement, Max looked at Chloe in bemused curiosity "What?" she asked with a chuckled breath

"Close your eyes!" Chloe demanded, her voice alive and bright. When Max looked at her incredulously, Chloe planted her hands on her hips "Max, close your damn eyes or I'll call you by your full first name"

"You wouldn't dare" Max challenged.

Chloe never faltered, instead, she merely winked.

"Try me"

Max blinked.

Muttering in defeat Max hesitantly closed her eyes, face full of a nervous smile as Chloe clambered victoriously from Max's lap and threw herself across the bed. There was some attempt at grace Max knew, but the sudden gasp, the yell of "Fuck!" and the sound of a rattled bookshelf as a clatter of limbs and books hit the floor was all the evidence that Chloe's attempt at graceful cat-like bounds had failed.

Max began to giggle, especially when she heard Chloe attest to her great skill at gymnastics... but as she sat there alone in the dark, she anxiously took a grip of her arm and began to thumb the length of her soft bicep. _Fuck,_ she suddenly realized, _when was the last time I did this?_ The sudden realization made her want to stop, and begrudgingly she pried her fingers away and instead locked her hands together where her thumbs coiled like eager snakes against one another.

"Your eyes still closed, Maximus?" Chloe asked hopefully.

"Of course they are, you goof" Max admitted with a laugh, calming a touch when she heard Chloe's voice again "what's all this?"

"You'll see... open your eyes" crouched before her was Chloe, her eyes full of a a mischievous glimmer, and in her hand she clutched a box Max had never seen before.

Placing the box in Max's lap, the affection in Chloe's voice was met only by the longing kiss she planted on the brunette's lips before sitting beside her on the couch, sitting cross legged as she watched Max eagerly.

"Wowsers, Chloe... what is this?" Max asked quizzically- Chloe just handed her the box-cutter.

"You'll see. Open it."

Max sat there quietly, studying the box. Her fingers traversed the water blotched and dusty cardboard, tracing the fluffing ridges and once soggy spots turned brittle. _This box survived one hell of a beating...Chloe must have really worked to dig this up._

Had the storm never touched it, the box would still have looked as though it could've been from a bygone age… it had an aura of vague ossification, and was mummified with tape that had gradually turned to a less than appealing shade of grungy sepia.

What treasure was there to be found in this box, Indiana Max wondered? Glancing across to Chloe she saw her nod encouragingly, and with a chuckle she looked back to the box, sliding the blade free. _Well, time to break the seal..._ taking the cutter she pierced the tape, and she had to hide her disappointment when there was no sudden gushes of sepulchral air, spraying free like the breeze of a tomb when its ancient seal was broken. Instead, all she got was the crisp pop of punctured tape. How anticlimactic.

The moment she pried that box open, Max felt her heart stop, and her face slowly grow in luminescence. She cradled her mouth as though to seal in the babbling that would emerge if she talked, and barely noticed as Chloe leaned forward, with a pleased simper on her lips.

_Wowsers..._

"Surprise, Max!" Chloe's voice broke trying to contain itself, but Max barely noticed... lost inside the contents of the box.

_How? How have these survived? In the face of everyone and the people lost, how have these made it though?_

Max reached in with a trembling hand, and from the depths of that dusty box, withdrew a thick pack of sealed Polaroids. She stared at the pristine pack, unable to stop her hands shaking and she could barely see Chloe's eyes visibly twinkling in the corner of peripheral vision as she read the words scrawled in marker aloud with disbelief

"Max and Chloe's Pirate Adventures... Chloe how did you...?" Chloe silenced Max, and pointed with her nose into the box once again. Max nearly cried when she saw what Chloe was gesturing to.

Sitting there, surrounded by eye-patches and a plastic hook hand, were their pirate hats. Gravity suddenly seemed to double, and tears began to flow freely from Max's eyes as she sat there laughing meekly at the ridiculousness of it all.

"Max, if you think I was going to leave Arcadia Bay without my best memories... storm or not... you are sorely fucking mistaken, loser... c'mere" helping Max slide the box from her lap she guided the sniffling brunette to lie between her legs as the pair kicked out across the couch together, threading their arms around one another, squeezing tight.

"Thank you..." the words came like a ghost in the night, breezing from Max's lips quietly to disappear almost without notice. But Chloe noticed. She always noticed.

"Anytime, Super Max- now come on, I'm dying here Caulfield! Show me the booty!" flicking Chloe's nose for that pun and sharing a chuckle together, Max gingerly opened the packet of Polaroids with a nudge from the blue haired pirate queen, and eased those treasured pictures from their home of several years and into the light of a new day once more. These Polaroids, unlike the box, had that sweet aroma of an age once lost and now reclaimed- and curling up together, Chloe and Max looked through each and every picture one at a time.

The two of them stayed like that for an unknowable amount of time, just coiled together, looking fondly through a photo album of visual slices of time once thought gone forever. Reality just seemed to gradually slow down around them, naturally, and to Max's eternal relief without consequence. With each new picture there was a memory reborn, laughter to the point of tears… it was the perfect ending to a shitty month. By the time they came to the last picture, night had fallen almost entirely.

Sat there in the purple haze of the gloaming, the two shared an eskimo kiss and finally broke their entwining on the couch after a few minutes deliberating and heatedly debating what pizzas they wanted.

In truth they had forgotten all about the plan to order until Ryan Caulfield yelled "Pizza, yay or nay" up the stairs, and now upon making their decision, Chloe took their order despite Max's protests and slipped out the room. ' _I gotta go to the little punk's room anyway, so I might as well',_ Max remembered Chloe admitting before slipping through the doorway with a wink.

 _A little too much info maybe, Chlo?_ With an entertained smirk Max rose from the couch and flipped on her fairy-lights, which hung like vines across the length of her ceiling and trailed down the furthest wall, framing the window overlooking the suburb beyond. She remembered liking the view when she lived here; it didn't hold a candle to the Lighthouse, but at least here like there she could see the stars without hindrance.

Striding over she found herself remaining there, peering out at the quiet houses beyond, the only sign of life being the car of Ryan Caulfield leisurely driving away. Max's face creased with bemusement, _Where is he going, weren't we ordering a takeout?_ she wondered, leaning against the window frame as she watched his tail-lights begin to wither into the distance- only to nearly scream as something fluttered in her face from out of nowhere.

She bolted backwards with a start, heart thumping, staring at the shape that was now hovering outside her window... lingering in the dark space between the sky and the earth, and Max couldn't shake the strange feeling that it was watching her. Nudged forward by that nefarious urge to know, Max regained her ground and peered at what she could now see was a dire insect. A Moth, much larger than any she had seen personally... it looked to be as big as her hand, and with each beat of its wings they inflated like sails and there came a quiet and unsettling gust of wind. Grimly entranced Max leaned towards the moonlit moth, trying to make out its features in the dark, and as she leaned closer the sound of the bedroom door slamming shut behind her forced her to jump in fright.

Casting a glance back she saw the look of wonder which transformed into approval on Chloe's face as she immediately noticed the soft glow of the room from those whimsical lights, but when Max turned to face the moth, it had gone... as though it had never been there. _What the hell was that?_ crossed her mind, as a sense of dread began to grow in the very bottom of her soul. With a shake of her head, Max resolved to move on, and so she returned her attention to Chloe.

"So Maxaroni, that's one cheese feast for you, and one double pepperoni for me, ordered! Your dad's gone to pick them up." _Well, that solves that particular mystery,_ Max wryly thought to herself as she remembered her father's car trundling down the road.

"I was hella tempted to order the 'Meat King' but it felt way too hetero. All that Italian sausage? In my mouth? No thanks" Max eased herself into Chloe's arms as they encircled her from behind, sharing a laugh and placing a kiss on her cheek for good measure as they stood by the window. Max loved the way Chloe giggled, even at her own jokes. It had a way of pulling Max in for the ride too, even if the joke was terrible. Which they often were.

"C'mon Chloe, we all know you Looooove Italian Sausage" Max teased with a prod, Chloe couldn't help but shake her head, amused.

"My secret is revealed" the two shared a chuckle and cast their gaze out across the suburb... falling into a blissful quiet, as though both were reaching back to the same memory. They were both there by the Lighthouse, watching the waves roll in...

"You know..." Chloe started, the hesitation in her voice forcing a pause that coaxed Max's eyes, filled with a quizzical glow, to find their way to Chloe's moon drenched features "It's weird... being here, outside of Arcadia Bay. I mean, you know i wanted to get out, to climb out of that place... but now that i'm out, i miss it. How strange is that?"

Their eyes met, lost in one another's gaze, and Max reached up and ran her fingers through her best friend's blue hair "Its not strange at all, Chloe... i... i kinda feel the same. Its hard to believe its... its just..."

"Gone?" The word threw Max's train of thought and her mouth moved to create its own, to vocally structure her thoughts concisely... but Chloe was right. Giving up on expending the mental effort, Max slowly emptied her lungs in a long exhale through her nose... and instead merely nodded. Chloe wrapped Max up tighter in her arms, placing a soothing kiss on the brunette's tender temple- it roused a pleasurable tingle along Max's hairline, and she shivered in Chloe's arms.

"But i still have you" the whisper made Chloe's breath deepen quietly, and Max barely noticed, unsure if it was her own imagination or not "And... we'll always have those memories"

"Always, Max. We'll always be the Pirates of Arcadia Bay... with the greatest booty" Max immediately face-palmed to suppress a chortle, and Chloe victoriously nuzzled Max's neck, coaxing a muffled chuckle from within those hands, planting kisses where she could until Max's hands gradually peeled back. Neither truly saw the headlights returning from the bottom of the street, nor hear the sound of a car door opening and shutting.

A quiet few minutes passed, staring up at the stars, before the fond silence was broken.

"Maxine! Chloe! Ryan's back!" the familiar voice of Vanessa called from downstairs, but Max and Chloe didn't move, not right away. They were contentedly lost in their moment together.

"Come on then, Super Max... the mothership calls" Chloe took Max by the hand, leading the brunette to the door... but as Chloe put a hand on the handle Max saw the bluenette's mind visibly change in her eyes. The taller girl turned and wrapped the Max up in a hug- to which Max gratefully relinquished herself. They surrendered to one another's grasp for one more meaningful embrace before the night's events. She knew as she knew Chloe did too, that it might be their last chance to safely do so with the Caulfield Sentinels ever vigilant.

"Sorry Max, just had to get one more in before we have to go back in the closet for who knows how long" A finger on Chloe's lip silenced the bluenette, Max knew Chloe was right, and didn't want to waste anymore time. Their lips came together as though gravity itself willed it, naturally drawn to one another as their arms held fast around their bodies- neither one ever wanting to lose the other.

Max's tongue traced Chloe's lips and almost buckled when she heard the punk mewl into her in response... a tension rose in her chest, her hands drinking in Chloe's lithe form, fingers creeping their tips under that huge shirt and taking a grip of the flesh of Chloe's hips. Max's head rolled back when Chloe's lips traveled, taking the photographer's bottom lip betwixt her teeth before her kisses journeyed the sharp length of Max's jaw... and found sanctuary on her throat. Max's breath hitched with the feeling of teeth, hot tingles rushing down her body, and Chloe kept up her attention lovingly squared on Max's gossamer neck with practiced skill.

"C-Chloe..." Max whispered meekly, taking a loose fistful of blue hair in an effort to keep Chloe nestled right where she was. But it was not to be... gradually Chloe's head pulled back, staring into Max's eyes, wide and all consuming.

 _I would do it all again for you_ , was all Max could think. Chloe took her hand, and gestured with a nod to the door as she jostled the handle and pulled it open with consummate ease.

"Come on, Super Max... let's get our food before your Mom gets wise we're in lesbians with each other"

Heat rushed to Max's face and shyly she hid it with a hand as a giggle escaped its muffled confines "By the power of grayskull, Chloe... you're such a nerd"

Chloe simply shrugged with a grin "A hungry nerd"

"MAXINE, CHLOE, BUTTS DOWN HERE NOW. PIZZA IS GETTING COLD" The booming voice of Ryan Caulfield traveled up from the Hallway below and exiting Max's room Chloe closed the door behind her, ushering Max on ahead.

"After you, mademoiselle" Chloe offered with a courtly bow, to which Max curtsied in kind as she slipped in front of Chloe.

"Merci ma belle!"

"Fuck, that sounded hot... I wish I spoke French. What did you say?" Max simply grinned at Chloe, and stuck out her tongue before snarkily replying

"Learn! Git gud!" the pair disappeared down the stairs, positively bounding and their howling bellies began to sing songs in their honor as they rushed to their meals.

They sat in the living room with Vanessa and Ryan for the whole evening, pizza boxes on laps, laughing and joking, and fighting over which 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movie was the best. Like the kitchen and hall, the Caulfield lounge was a minimalist space, though in the orange haze of the corner lamp's glow, it was as cozy as a campfire; paintings hung from small frames and the lush carpet spanned the floor, much to the relief of Max's toes. Their TV was colossal, dominating a wall, and was matched only by the large black sofa sat against the wall opposed to it, and the arm chair adjacent from that at the end of the room.

Max's parents claimed the sofa, but only because the two girls were content sitting on the floor, side by side, never once moving more than an inch apart. Their argument over which of the Pirates movies was the best had been ongoing- but the elder Caulfields were decidedly beat by Chloe and Max's joint vote for 'Curse of the Black Pearl'. With their victory eventually admitted, they demanded the movie be played, and Ryan bowed to their wisdom- much to Vanessa's jesting chagrin, who even well into the movie's opening credits swore blindly 'At World's End' was the better film.

Like commentators at a soccer game they watched the movie... pointing out the scenes and characters they loved whenever they popped up on screen, and when Max offered Chloe a piece of her pizza she nearly choked to death on cheese and laughter when the bluenette went 'Full-Barbossa' and quickly quipped "A'thank ye, Jack!"

It was the kind of stuff that normal people did, you know, when time and fate aren't making you their bitches... And as the night wore on, and the fourth movie began to play, Vanessa and Ryan quietly turned off the TV and left the girls to their pizza induced slumber. They sat sprawled out against the couch, pizza boxes all around them, and soundlessly they slept in peace; Chloe with her head blissfully rested on Max's shoulder, and Max with her cheek nestled in the cerulean locks of Chloe's blueberry sweet hair.

Vanessa drew the door closed cautiously, and watching the passed out two as the gap in the doorway crept closed, she felt her heart expand with a humble happiness.

"Welcome home, girls" and the door closed with a minute click.

* * *

**A/N: And there we go, my need to be all fluffy has been mostly sated! Now to get the tale! Thanks for reading <3**


	3. Unwelcome Dreams

_**October 20** **th** **2013**_

_With the beat of a moth's wings, Max found herself thrust amongst the nothingness of a derelict expanse, sat upon a bench facing the one solitary edifice within this ethereal realm she had come to inhabit by her lonesome; a swing set, from which two seats hung with an eerie stillness._

_To all sides there was only endless stretches of grey, and Max felt her gut twist as the cold fingers of panic suddenly encircled and yanked at her spine._

Oh no... is this another nightmare...? _Max postulated as she frantically looked about, unwilling to take into account her own lucidity, dreading that it may add validity to her fear... and as her heart rate began to rise, so too did she to her feet, and helplessly she scanned the void that now housed her._

_The Nightmare was something Max could deal with, it was tangible, its darkness a miasma that she could breath in and expel... but here, in this grey place, she did not feel she would be able tolerate it long. The bleakness was overwhelming, the lack of contrast and monotony of the world about her gnawed upon her eyes, and she felt a familiar buzz of aching pain begin to take root in the front of her mind._

_The hot trickle surprised her at first; bringing her fingers to her lips to examine what her eyes could not reach, she recoiled the moment she saw that deep, slick, scarlet painted upon her finger tips, standing out with distressing vibrancy against the monochrome world. Max's lungs seized, blood thundered in her ears, and the strength of her legs ebbed away, threatening to buckle beneath her._

" _What's going on...? Why am I here?" she asked pitifully of the nothingness as she staggered, nearly crumpling upon the frame of the swing set as she leaned against it for support. It was now, as she rested against its cool metal surface, that she noticed this lonely structure seemed to be the very center of this accursed place, the core of a great and hollow expanse. The paradoxical heart of the void._

_It was the only thing rooting this waking dream to some semblance of reality... but if the past two weeks had proven anything to Max, it was that reality was a very fluid construct- and woefully not as concrete and reliable as Max so desperately wanted it to be._

" _Max, are you scared of storms?" a young, fragile voice asked from behind her, and as the soul nearly fled her body in fright she barely managed to avoid falling on her backside. The question had turned the blood in her veins into an icy sludge as visions of the screaming tornado enveloped her in a haze for a painful instant, and then cleared, to reveal a new sight._

_What she saw almost stopped her heart._

_There, sat on what was once the empty pair of seats hanging motionless, were two girls... rocking back and forth idly with gentle pushes of their heels in the colorless grass beneath their soles. One girl she could not place, but she was no more than nine, perhaps ten years old... with long silky black hair, a portion of which concealed one half of her face perfectly. From the other half an affectionate smile beamed at her friend, and an eye that twinkled like sapphire seemed to pass over Max._

_Or more accurately, pass through her... Yet it was not the sudden presence of this girl that startled her._

_It was the company she kept, and Max recognized the other child instantly._

_Despite all probability, the other girl was Max herself; from a youth long since passed, in a time where Arcadia Bay still stood. It felt like eons ago to Max now... but then, a question arose in her mind that Max wished had not, bringing with it a sick uncertainty._

Is this a memory? I... I don't remember any of this _, Max thought, staring at her past self and the mysterious girl as they relaxed there; the quiet creaking of the swing set's chains providing some small comfort, striking another familiar cord within Max, yet it too could not be placed. The presence of these children in this lifeless place was distinguished like bright smears of paint on a blank canvas, their colors bleeding into the fabric around them._

" _No, not really, pirates have got to be brave... the seven seas are full of storms, matey!" playfully Young Max poked at the other girl's ribs, tickling her and coaxing a loud and merry laugh. Max felt her heart break a little with the words of her past self, hearing the whispered echo of the tornado in the halls of her memory._

_As their laughter subsided, the still smiling Young Max leaned closer to the shy other girl, tilting her head to get a better look of her bashful face... or what half of it she could see._

" _Why do you ask?" Young Max couldn't stop herself from asking, watching as her black haired friend's fingers anxiously twisted the chains of her swing and offered only a shrug and meek smile._

" _Dunno... just wondering... Daddy says they're nothing to be scared of, but, they really scare me" the black haired child wrung her hands in her lap with jittery apprehension, unable to look Young Max in the eye... and the Older Max felt herself irresistibly drawn a couple of steps gingerly closer. "I have bad dreams about storms, I always try to run away, but I can't get away, and the storm gets me"_

_The other girl's cheeks practically burned red when Young Max threw her arm around her shoulders, initially as rigid as she appeared brittle... and the Older Max felt the smallest degree of warmth bloom in her chest as the girl's apprehension left her, and she eased into her younger self's embrace._

" _Don't worry Alice... you're part of our crew now, Cap'n Chloe told me to tell you" the girl, Alice, turned... that singular blue eye suddenly blazing with joy as her lips curled slowly in an ever growing smile "Yeah! You're part of the crew! And don't worry; we'll protect you from the Storm!"_

_Blinded by a sharp carnelian light, the Older Max did not have time to process those words. Reeling back from the scene it continued to play out wordlessly, all sound consumed by the deafening cracks of thunder born of wings too large to be real. A shadow was descending, blanketing all that it covered in inky shade... Max could barely hold her ground against the impossible gusts of wind, her ears feeling as though they could burst from the dreadful booms above, and with great strain Max could barely make out silhouette of a large winged beast- featureless and obsidian against the tremendous crimson light of that insidious red sun that dominated the skies above._

_Fear turned to horror as the creature hurtled closer, reaching out for her, and Max could barely make out a scream as the beast's black mass descended upon her entirely._

The scream carried Max through the veil, and howling back to reality. Like a meteor she shot up in bed, heart hammering, eyes burning with the fresh rays of sunlight and the painful return of color.

 _What was that!?_ _What was that thing...!?_ Terror ran as potently as venom, pumping through her arteries so fast and strong that she labored to breathe, grasping at her constricting chest.

Quickly she scanned the room, noting the most important features, those that she loved, devouring their visage to root herself: _the fairy lights, check; the stars and stripes, check; My camera, check; Lava lamp, check._

 _It's okay, it was just a dream, Max... just breathe..._ Max sucked in a deep breath of oxygen, trying against all impulse to resist panting with wild abandon... determined that the panic would not get the better of her. Defiantly she sat there, damp with cooling sweat, and gradually as the turbulent sea of emotion in her chest began to calm, she managed to regained control.

"Max, honey?" a muffled voice called from downstairs, echoing through the crack in her door. Taking a moment to indulge in one last soothing inhale through her nose and exhale through her mouth, Max pulled back the covers and squirmed to the edge of the bed, planting her feet on the carpet and flexing her toes as she grounded herself further "You alright up there?"

Max caught herself wordlessly nodding and applauded her own idiocy before calling back to her father "Yeah Dad, just a bad dream"

"Alright, well come down when you're ready, I'm making bacon and eggs" the smell had already alerted Max to that fact, and heavily she rose, rubbing the back of her neck as she plucked some fresh clothes from her closet and entered the bathroom.

Stripping from her damp pajamas Max dragged herself into the shower and did not linger. A quick wash with water at nigh Mount Doom-level temperature was all she needed to rouse her from the stupor she could feel herself mired in- the fact she looked as red as a lobster afterwards was only a minor concern, the fact she felt better was rationalization enough.

Once her body was fully dried she clothed herself in those fresh garments, and worked over her hair with a towel as she made her way downstairs to join her Father in the kitchen, sitting herself down at the breakfast bar.

The smell was incredible, matched only by the satisfactory sounds of the sizzling and popping of the cooking bacon. It brought back fond memories of her time in Seattle, and that surprised her... specifically, of times her father would make her pancakes to cheer her up. It was funny, he always seemed to be cooking her something when she was upset- and Max appreciated that, be it coincidence or not... and it looked like today was no exception.

Ryan Caulfield busied himself gleefully, moving around the kitchen like a whirlwind, and as always wearing those awful slippers.

"I hope you're hungry" Ryan asked, peering with a wink over his shoulder to Max, who nodded with a soft smile on her lips.

"Famished, Dad" scooping her eggs and bacon onto a plate and then his own, Ryan grabbed a couple of knives and forks and sat opposed to Max at the breakfast bar, laying them all out invitingly "This looks amazing"

"Thanks, won't be as good as Joyce's I'll bet, but I still make a pretty mean breakfast" Max merely grinned at her father, who chuckled as he helped himself to a glass of orange juice, pouring his daughter a glass soon after.

"You're not in work today?" Max inquired, surprised at her father's presence, but not unpleasantly so. She was glad that he was here- waking up to a home as derelict as the grey place in her dream would have probably fucked her day up irreparably she bet... besides, it was just nice to be sat with her dad alone, it had been a long time since they had some time together.

Ryan nodded, briefly speechless from a mouthful of bacon and OJ; Gulping it down he cleared his throat, excusing himself with a gesture "I will be, but Sergeant Nicholson is coming here first so we can run over a few files before we head to the Precinct"

_Wowser... my Dad, Detective Caulfield, solving crimes, being a hero! That must be nice._

"That reminds me" Ryan said, drawing a wry cock of a brow from Max "Chloe said to tell you she'll be back later, she's off to find ways to 'make hella cash' as she put it"

"Never say that again" making a show of mock cringing Max finally broke into a small amount of giggles, shaking her head in amusement at her father's poor attempt to emulate Chloe "But please, PLEASE tell me she took the resumes me and mom helped her with"

Scratching his coppery beard, Ryan drew out the painful silence in a show of internal deliberation, and Max felt her frustration raise its head. It was only when she was mere moments from vocalizing her agitation that she beaten to the punch by Ryan- unable to continue his ruse he chased a gulp of his juice with a breathy laugh, and nodded enthusiastically to force back his daughter's lighthearted scowl.

"Yeah don't worry, Maxie... she took them with her. She was a little nervous about it, actually" as Ryan cleared his plate, he got up and moved to the sink to wash it, just in time to miss Max's face soften with the information she received.

 _It's hard to imagine Chloe nervous,_ Max thought, folding her arms with a quiet grumble. _I mean, I get it... she's somewhere entirely new... it's like when I got back to Arcadia Bay, I was so nervous I couldn't sleep properly for the first couple of nights- and I didn't feel the need to job search, I had Blackwell dorms and my classwork to worry about._ Her thoughts rolled in her head like oil in a pan, stretching thin and fizzling out, before with an inaudible mumble she sighed through her nose.

"I-I don't know why she was so adamant about getting a job though" Max admitted quietly, catching herself rubbing her arm awkwardly before she continued "I-It's not like you're asking her to pay rent"

There was a quiet then, and the timid tone of Max's voice hung in the air with resounding clarity in the aftermath of her words. Ryan turned just the slightest amount, peering at her from over the horizon of his shoulder, those muddy brown eyes filled with mystery as Max felt his quizzical stare fasten itself upon her. His face became indecipherable, his eyes moving the slightest degrees as though to follow the tails of thoughts running through his mind... but they never left the general vicinity of Max's own blue gaze, until she sharply looked down.

Then he smiled, sympathetically, and turned away once more "Max, do you think that maybe that's the reason why she is so adamant about getting some work?" drying his plate he set it on the rack beside the sink, and he sat himself back at the breakfast bar, flashing Max a wise smirk when he saw the meager look of bemusement in her furrowing brows. He knew she was mulling over her words.

"I did not..." she begrudgingly whispered. It made sense though, now she thought about it, her father's wisdom shining a light on something she hadn't even considered previously. The prospect of living with Chloe and Joyce, had the tables been turned, and not paying her way to her new home seemed downright criminal to Max the more she contemplated it, and suddenly Chloe's potential motivation seemed as obvious as a flaming house. The prang of embarrassment Max felt stab into her at her oversight stung her pride, and her brow twitched. Ryan's smug grin only grew stronger.

"See? Don't know everything do you?" with her father's playful jab Max stuck her tongue out at him, and was met evenly by her father replying in kind and taking her plate as the two shared a chuckle.

 _I really missed you, dad,_ crossed Max's mind fondly, and Ryan uttered a muted curse as he eyed his watch after sliding that spent plate into the sink.

"Alright champ, sorry I gotta do this but I'm gonna need you to vacate soon, it won't be long till the Sarge gets here and I need to set up before she arrives"

 _Ah yes, the Sergeant..._ Max had almost forgotten about that. Nibbling the inside of her cheek she lingered there in awkward silence for a moment in wonder, and she was sure that her father knew the question before she even asked "Are you and Sarge going to be looking over the-"

"Yes, Max." Ryan pointedly intercepted, silencing Max immediately "We will be looking over information pertaining to _That_. As promised" Max bit her lip a little as she saw the weary look suddenly age her father's once jovial face, and though his tone was far from unpleasant... she knew it was better to drop the topic and nodded, crestfallen.

"I'm sorry, honey" Ryan offered, rubbing the back of his neck as he frowned inwardly at himself "It's just that Nicholson and I have been going at this as best as we can... but with it being technically out of our jurisdiction, it makes investigating... tricky- and stressful. But we're working on it, Max"

Max stared at her father, her heart swelling as a frail and happy smile began to flourish on her lips, and she moved around the breakfast bar, only to fling her arms around her father in a tight hug. Ryan gasped a small surprised laugh and squeezed her in kind, placing a kiss on the top of her head as he breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Dad"

"You're welcome, honey... we'll get to the bottom of this, I promise... Nicholson is calling in a couple of favors too, to help us out. What happened... it will be righted, okay?" eye to eye now Max smiled and chuckled in embarrassment as her dad thumbed away the twinkling beginnings of tears, and cupped her face in his rough palms.

"Okay" sharing a warm smile, the doorbell rang, and she caught the anxious look of her father as he straightened himself out. Max nodded to him, her face bright "You get your stuff ready, I'll go let her in"

"Thanks honey" ruffling his daughter's hair Ryan stepped back, and Max turned on her heel, bare feet padding to the ivory white front door.

She was almost felt infected by her father's nerves, but in truth, she was a little giddy at the prospect of the Sergeant's presence... and what it meant- so taking the door's handle in her hand, she twisted and pulled it open... and was greeted at first by blinding rays of light, which faded as the shadow of a valkyrie-like woman greeted her next.

"Hello, Miss Caulfield" the woman's voice was gruff but softer than her stern features, which despite Max's preference to remain smiling actually intimidated her. Nicholson stood a good head and a half over Max, with a spine stiff as a ramrod and her hands clasped tight behind her back. She sported freshly ironed black pants, edges razor sharp, and a fashionable plain white blouse with the cuffs rolled to the elbows. "Is your Father home?"

"Y-you're Sergeant Nicholson, right?" the woman's scarred face creased with an amused grin, and running a hand through her short, almost faux-hawked graying hair, she nodded.

"That'd be me" Nicholson said as she pointed to her badge, hanging around her neck on a chain. Max's gaze drifted down, following the line of the chain, to the leather of a shoulder harness, to its termination at the black grip of a pistol sat secure in a holster under her arm. Max instantly became several shades paler.

" _Chloe... look out...!"_  
"What the fuck...!?"  
A gunshot and it was over. For Chloe at least.

Max's wrists began to itch from the ghost of duct tape.

"And you are Maxine Caulfield, correct?" like a stone through glass the mention of her full name roused Max back to reality, to find the Sergeant with arms folded across her chest and eyebrow curiously cocked.

"Just Max, it's nice to meet you Sergeant Nicholson... come in, my dad will be right with you" Max stepped out of the way and invited the officer in, and gratefully she bowed her head and moved inside before Max closed the door behind her.

"I don't like my first name either" Nicholson said with a grin, and it was Max's brow that curiously cocked this time, imploring Nicholson to go on and let them bond in their terrible first names- and smirking the Sergeant shook her head slowly. Max's brows furrowed in minor indignation "But feel free to call me Penny" and with that she offered her hand to Max, who politely took it in a small shake... a little smile on her lips now.

"Nice to meet you, Penny"

"Likewise, Max" the Sarge released her hand, and Max felt it throb with the blood rushing back to her wiry fingers, _Wowsers that woman has a serious grip!_

"Sarge?" Ryan's voice called from down the hallway, but when he saw Penny and Max by the door, he couldn't help but scratch his beard with a grin "I see you've met Max, she scold you about calling her 'Maxine' yet?"

"Well, it would appear your detective skills _are_ finally improving, Ryan" Penny said casting a wink to Max, earning her an amused curl of the lips from the young Caulfield and an eye roll from her father who disappeared into the kitchen once more with a chortle. Nicholson looked back to Max, an ever so slight smirk of entertainment on her lips "Have a good day, Max"

"You too, Penny" with that they exchanged nods, and the Amazonian Nicholson strode on down the hallway... and closed the kitchen door behind her, just as Max crouched midway up the stairs to listen in.

"You're good, Sarge" she admitted under her breath with a simper, humble in defeat despite the faintest slither of a scowl, and with nothing else to do Max resolved to simply return to her room, and closing the door behind her threw herself like a bag of bricks onto the couch.

The day crawled on, Ryan and Penny were downstairs for maybe an hour before Ryan shouted his goodbyes to his daughter from the front yard, before he and his superior slipped into their cars and drove off.

It was mere minutes after their cars vanished that Max felt that inevitable and unwelcome feeling descend like a black winged monster upon her once again- isolation. The emptiness of the home, its stillness, brought back visions of the grey place... and its monotonous chill clung to her body like a black cloud. Max, simply could not bear it.

She had spent the past couple of hours since her father's departure for work exploring the local sights of Seattle, or more accurately, re-discovering it. Max took a trail near her home, unable to resist, pulled in by the net of her nostalgia. The five years she lost here in Seattle were not all bad, and she spent a lot of it walking through this wooded expanse.

With the vermilion tinged golden glow of the sun entering the final stages of its setting, she had taken a few photos too, unwilling to let such a wonderful ambiance go to waste. Nature could provide such wonderful lighting, perhaps the best in Max's mind... she found herself timid around studio set ups now. Professional gear looked almost surgical, the bright lights were invasive; now there was only nausea where there was once admiration.

At least she would always have her camera, though... and instinctively Max found herself thumbing its plastic chassis, savoring the feeling of her holy relic. Her thoughts drifted to Chloe then, falling into the image of her smile, and Max's chest and cheeks filled with a longing heat.

Max's phone buzzed, rattling her from her reverie. She was shocked when she plucked it from her pocket to see two contacts reaching out to her. Perplexed Max couldn't help but read the names aloud under her breath.

"Chloe, and... Victoria?" Max rubbed her eyes to make sure she read that right, closing the gate to the trail behind her as she stepped onto the sidewalk to begin her journey home. The randomness of its presence on her phone unsettled her... Victoria didn't text her, not really, not unless it was something important.

Unlocking her phone she swiped open the message, unsure of why she was feeling dread gathering in her chest before she'd even read the text.

 **Received today at 17:18** – Max checked her phone's clock, and seeing that close to an hour had slipped by, she quietly hissed at unnoticed passage of time and read on.

 _**Victoria Chase** _ **– Hey, loser. I'm not checking in, I'm sure you and your blue haired carpet muncher are living it up in Seattle while I slave away down here. I'm just letting you know something. You've had folks looking for you and Chloe. One of them was a cop, he was looking for Chloe, I checked his ID. Are you and Chloe in some kind of trouble? Talk to me, Max...**

 _A cop? What would a cop want with Chloe?_ Max nibbled anxiously on her lower lip as she turned onto her block, walking at a snail's pace now as she typed out her reply.

 _**Max Caulfield** _ **– Hey Victoria, sorry for the delay... busy day, I'm sorry. Me and Chloe are fine, we've been settling in for the past couple of days, nothing has happened as far as I'm aware. Did you tell the cop anything?**

 _**Victoria Chase** _ **– I'm not going to snitch on you, loser, as much as I'd love to see you wear something shiny and silver on your wrists, I'd rather it be Pandora and not handcuffs- but you insist on wearing those hideous wristbands all the same.**

Max's heartbeat settled a little, and she cracked the tiniest smile, relieved with the news. Chuckling at the Pandora comment she quickly typed out her next message, happily reflecting upon the fact that she could now banter with Victoria at least after the week they had spent working together- 'Queen Bee' and 'Selfie Hoe', the unlikeliest of friends.

 _**MC –** _ **Thanks Victoria... so what did you tell him?**

 _**VC** _ **– Just that Chloe headed Portland way, other than that I couldn't say. He bought it; he took off not long after.**

 _**MC** _ **– Victoria, you are the Queen Bee.**

 _**VC** _ **– Yeah, you better fucking bow down, loser... but like I said, there were others, thing is they weren't looking for Chloe... They were looking for you.**

The tips of Max's fingers filled with numbness, her heart almost seizing with the ominous energy that message gave off. It couldn't be helped, and Max fearfully wondered why.

 _**MC** _ **– They were looking for me? Who were they?**

 _**VC** _ **– Max, I don't know... but I got a vibe from them. There were two, a scrawny guy and a taller girl with long black hair... the guy, he kinda looked like Nathan, it freaked me out- his friend was no better, she just kept looking at me with this smile, staring me down... like she was some kind of hungry dog or something. Max if they're your friends from out of town, you got a fucked up taste in acquaintances!**

Stood silently outside her home, Max never noticed that Chloe's truck had still not returned, nor had her mother or fathers... instead she was staring with pinprick pupils at the phone's screen. Dumbfounded, frightened, and at a lost for words, the image of these two individuals in her mind brought forth a low rumble of blood thumping in her ears. They sounded so familiar, and yet, they were alien- like Seattle itself. The girl's description unsettled her the most, woefully dragging her thoughts back to the vision this morning.

 _**MC** _ **– Vic, I don't know anyone like that... not that I like to admit it, but I didn't really have any friends before coming to Blackwell**

 _**VC** _ **– Yeah, well, no sob stories Caulfield... but I told them I didn't know where you were. The sickly guy, he kinda just shrugged and walked off, but the girl? She just chuckled, like she knew I was lying or something... I don't like it, I'm freaked out. I've been feeling like I'm being watched since they left.**

 _**MC** _ **– When you can, get out and come to Seattle... Maybe you should take it as a sign that you've done enough, Vic**

 _**VC** _ **– What, you mean just leave like you and your fucking girlfriend did because you wanted to go home and fuck?**

Stepping through the front door Max locked it behind her before she read that, and the moment she did, her chest grew tight and her cheeks flared with an agitated scarlet. She had no idea that Victoria would still be so raw about this.

 _**MC** _ **– We did what we had to... we worked so hard that week, and i told you, me and Chloe were wrapped up in shit from start to finish of the week leading to it, that i just... i cant explain it. You know i can't, too... and you said you understood, Victoria! Just come to Seattle if you feel uncomfortable, you've worked so hard, they will understand**

 _**VC** _ **– Whatever, Maxine. I'll come home when I'm ready to, because whether I like it or not, people still need help here! And you know damn well that I have to find him! Anyway, I'm gone. There's your update. See you whenever, loser.**

And like that, Max lowered her phone... knowing full well that if she tried to get more words from the Queen Bee, she would be met only with silent, muted anger. Groaning stepped inside and locked up, before she slid her back down against the door and splayed out her legs as she sat there staring aimlessly down the corridor. Alone.

It was only then that the hush of the house, barely disturbed by the softness of Max's delicate breaths, was broken by the ringing of her phone- the empty house alive with the sound of banjos. Spotting the name of the contact calling, Max felt her spirits surge to life and cut the wonderfully folk ringtone short.

"This is the office of Caulfield and Price, Private Investigators and Closet Inspectors, how may I help you?"

"Ha bloody ha, Max" came the chiding, but tickled voice of Chloe on the end of the line, Max beamed "You forgotten how to send messages? I sent you about fifty texts, dude"

Max frowned at her phone "Sorry, it's been an interesting day" _sure, that's one way to put it, Caulfield,_ she thought with an internal roll of her eyes "Whats up, doc?"

"Got a bit of news, some good, some not so good" letting out a long groan Max palmed her forehead, making circles on her temples with her finger and thumb. _Great, just great._ "Which you want first?"

"Not so good" hearing Chloe take a deep breath, Max couldn't help but expect something ridiculous almost immediately. Had she crashed the truck or something?

"Not so good is, I won't be coming home tonight..." the quiet that followed from Max was impossible to describe, and Chloe broke it as best she could, unable to handle its volume "...But I will be back tomorrow morning, I promise!"

"Why" is all Caulfield said, voice masking the disappointment she felt as she let her head fall back with a dull 'thunk' off the door, her eyes closed to hone her hearing in on just how good this explanation would have to be to stop her being sour about it. _Go on Price, impress me._

"It's Joyce" Chloe said intently, startling Max, one of her eyes snapped open so quick it could have clapped.

"What about her, is she alright?" the consternation in Max's voice plain as day.

"Yeah, yeah she's fine Max... she's just... having a rough time of it, with David and stuff. Look I'm not going to go into it on the phone, but I'd feel like a hella shitty daughter if I wasn't there for her- I'll explain it all tomorrow, okay?"

Inhaling deeply, Max swallowed to urge to scream no it wasn't, to demand that Chloe come home and be with her instead- but how do you tell your bestfriend, your girlfriend even, that you want them to ditch their mother in a rare time in need... just because you're freaked out by the specter of a bad dream? The image of the two strangers looking for her had been forced to the side, unwilling to give that terrifying thought the time of day.

The exhale came after a wordless minute, it was long, venting... and unable to stop herself nodding as she wearily rubbed her eyes, Max relented.

"Okay, just be home as early as you can though, please. I-I... I don't like it when you're away, but i understand"

"I don't like it either, believe me... but thank you- and I will Max, I promise" Chloe wasn't deaf, she could hear the dejection in Max's voice, and quickly she tried to rouse her girlfriend's spirits "So, the good news!"

"Yeah, what's that?" Max asked, offering all the enthusiasm she could scrape from the bottom of the barrel.

"I got all those resumes you and your mom helped me with handed out, and simultaneously snagged myself an interview!" meekly Max smiled, while crushed a little, it was a proud thing and she felt her gloom lift by a feather.

"I told you, didn't i? It isn't just me who sees all that potential" pushing up from the floor Max heavily, dragged herself up the steps, feeling fatigue settle over her like the thickest of mists... she barely saw the black shape fluttering into her room, putting it down to her eyes playing tricks on her "I'm gonna go hit the hay, Chloe... text you later?"

"Yeah... I'll call you, okay? I love you, Max"

"...I love you too" killing the line, Max slumped on her bed fully clothed, crawling through the sheets as though sinking in quicksand, before relinquishing to her fate and rolling onto her back. Staring at the ceiling, she was almost surprised to see that Moth fluttering around the motionless fan. Unable to resist the call of dreams any longer, her vision faded to black, drifting back to unknown realms on the back of fluttering wings.


	4. Wormwood's

"...I love you too" and with a click, Max was gone.

When the phone line disconnected, Chloe couldn't help but just stand there, staring at her phone as the cars whistled by her on the busy main street. "Fuck sake..." she hissed bitterly to herself, taping the edge of her smartphone against her forehead in frustration as she leaned back against her parked truck. She lit up a cig and sucked hard on that stick, nearly burning it out in one solid inhale... and exhaling it in a large plume, hoping to breathe out her consternation.

It worked- but only a little.

Despite the noise of the busy street Chloe knew it was a damn sight more peaceful than inside the diner where Joyce resided, and Chloe, removing her beanie in order to rake her fingers through her blue locks of hair hoping to alleviate her growing headache, couldn't help but cast a weary glance across to it.

"Wormwood's Diner..." Chloe uttered, clicking her tongue as she gave the place a proper, if cynical, once over. She'd only arrived moments before she called Max, and she knew from the start that the call wouldn't go well... but this place? Well, she had expected better... but perhaps she shouldn't have, after all, the place did have the word 'worm' in it- It was hardly synonymous with 'hella classy' was it?

It looked very similar to the Two Whales, and that fuelled a little nugget of resentment in Chloe... it was bigger, however, and looked as though it hadn't seen a wash in a decade. _It's effectively a bigger, more fucked up version of the Two Whales, how wonderfully fucking dope... Joyce could do so much better than this. A whale falling through its roof would probably be a damn improvement._ Upon thinking that, she noted the fine establishment's 50's styled sign; barely managing to keep it's degraded, grimed, murky lime fluorescent neons flickering on some of its letters.

In her bitter musings Chloe pulled her navy beanie back over her head and loosened her tie, un-tucking her blouse and unbuttoning her blazer as she moved to the entrance of Wormwood's, flicking that spent stub of her cig into the gravel. _I look hella too on point for this dive_ , Chloe thought with a sly smirk to herself as she passed the row of parked motorcycles and slipped inside with a nonchalant swagger, with the intention of establishing and asserting herself to the numerous patrons inside. Immediately, she realized she may have misjudged the place.

The place was alive, laughter, cheering, the clinking of bottles, friendly fighting by the counter, and there were bikers everywhere- it was more of a bar than a Diner, dimly lit it had a wooden, well-worn vibe, and behind the counter the wall was plastered in pictures of the regulars while the ceiling and other walls were mummified in rock music posters. Hendrix, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Chloe even saw to her surprise a Dresden Dolls poster amidst the gauze that held the walls in it pop-culture bindings. Wormwood's had the heat of a forge but the comfort of a cozy pub, it wasn't hard to see why it was so busy. There was even a Jukebox... exactly where the box at the Two Whales was. That stung Chloe a little... but amidst frenetic energy and life, Chloe immediately felt at home... and when she finally heard what was playing from the vintage jukebox, she lit up like a Christmas tree.

FRIGGIN' IN THE RIGGIN'!

FRIGGIN' IN THE RIGGIN'!

Chloe lapsed into a suppressed head bang, nodding with the beat and singing quietly along to the words as she headhunted for her mother, until, all at once, almost the whole diner was united as one boisterous voice:

FRIGGIN' IN THE RIGGIN' THERE WAS FUCK ALL ELSE TO DO!

Immediately a cacophony of guffaws erupted, friends shoving each other in celebration of their shared experience, and Chloe found herself drawn into the ambience of the place... this was her kind of place. _Okay, I hella misjudged this place... why doesn't Seattle have anything cool like this?_ It was then that Chloe pulled up a stool, giving up the ghost of finding her mother, and instead resolving to let Joyce find her. After all, Joyce worked here, and Chloe was a customer and a daughter both.

She found herself sat there for some considerable time before Joyce emerged, sat with a row of bikers and a couple of punks at the long, worn wooden counter- perched on the very last stool at the end of the row in isolation, and as she lingered there wordlessly soaking up the atmosphere like a anarchistic sponge, she suddenly felt very out of place in her shirt a tie. Luckily she was pulling off smart casual like a pro, her long legs bound in slim black denim rather than trousers, but amidst all the long hair, beards, leather, and wallet chains, she found herself awkwardly loosening her tie even more until eventually she inadvertently peeled it off.

In the waning moments of that unifying song Chloe held so fondly, she felt something bubble up to the surface, a honeyed memory that was sweet... but far too sickly. It took her by surprise, becoming momentarily lost with the dying sound of the Sex Pistols.

_"You're too much, y'know that?" Chloe admitted with a laugh, watching as her friend was dancing like nobody was watching to the thumping boombox, hood up, black hair flicking from its brim, and clutching two bottles of booze in a death grip- only her devilish smile could be seen, and she sauntered up to Chloe mouthing the words 'There was fuck all else to do...' as she handed the bluenette the fuller of the two bottles. They'd been at it for hours, she couldn't recall how many, all she knew was that night had fallen and they had to resort to using candles to provide some semblance of illumination the lair. Rachel was meant to be back by now but was late, as fucking always... Chloe had given up trying to figure out what it was now that detained her friend these days, there was always something._

_"It's one of my best traits, sugarbumps... nothing's ever enough, not even myself!" the hooded friend withdrew a couple of steps with chortle and the grace of a ballerina, spinning as she bounced back and forth on her heels, her toned legs in those black wetlook leggings holding Chloe's attention for ransom, even though the thundering booms of her New Rock boots stomping off the floor with each spring-heeled movement was almost too distracting. Almost._ Fuck, quit gawking at her, Price! _Those blue eyes cast themselves downwards, only to be drawn back when she heard her friend's silken voice_ _"You know, you should really come dance too... or are you afraid Rachel's gonna catch us?" there was vitriol in that stab at playfulness that nettled Chloe a little, and when she huffed in agitation she was met only by a sarcastic 'Awww' from the Hooded One. Chloe's eyebrow angrily twitched._

_"You know what, fuck you Alison" slowly those legs Chloe had been admiring ground to a halt, like the pistons of a ship dying in the ocean. The brief few seconds of silence were palpable as they stood what felt like leagues apart, and Chloe shot Alison a dark look, both parts angry and defensive- but with that hood obscuring all but her friend's lips, it was impossible to read her face. Instead, Alison just threw back the last of her beer and launched the bottle carelessly out of the door of the junkyard retreat where it shattered with ear splitting loudness outside. One more broken relic for the pile._

_Alison let loose a sage sigh, rubbing the back of her hooded head as she sat herself down beside Chloe, accidentally brushing her leg in a way that made the slightly inebriated bluenette's cheeks tingle. "You still haven't told her how you feel, have you Price?" the question was more rhetorical, and Chloe just looked at Alison, who was nodding away as though she could read Price's mind._ How the fuck do you do that, Kuato? Whats your secret? _Chloe's mouth opened only to shut again, and she nodded along bitterly "I can't tell her, Ali"_

_"Look" the begrudging seriousness in Alison's voice intrigued Chloe enough to cast her a sidelong glance, while her hands fidgeted with the neck of her beer bottle "I'm not one for feelings and all that horseshit... but despite all rhyme or reason, i actually like you Price, so listen to me- i'm about to drop some truth bombs up in this bitch" Chloe snorted in response, and Alison's lips curled happily before she continued "If you don't tell her how you feel, then shit is gonna go south for you two, because you'll end up looking at her, wanting her, and knowing that you're too chicken shit to do anything will actually drive a fucking wedge between you two. You've told me all about Max... and not to be a serious downer, sugartits, but you didn't exactly try to salvage that either"_

_Instantly Chloe rose up, a fire in her chest burning an enraged light through her eyes, but the flames were doused the second she turned to face Alison, and was met with a firm silencing finger on her lips "Before you flip out, Punkzilla, remember that You told me that- so don't fucking get angry at me for your drunk ramblings. It might be too late for your friendship with Max, but you can save this one with Rachel and maybe open up something new too... you just gotta take the plunge, Blue" Alison's hand sat itself on Chloe's knee, taking root there as she gave it a comforting squeeze... but that hand lingered. A flurry of feelings arose in Chloe, who found her own hand begrudgingly dragging itself of its own volition over Alison's. There was no resistance, and there they remained, the air thick with a intoxicated though welcomed bemusement._

_Wordlessly she stared at Alison, who she could feel was staring back at her just as intensely... tension rose, and tension broke, when Alison slid her fingers free. Quickly the coal haired girl got up and grabbed herself another beer, kicking open the cooler and popping the bottle's cap off her belt buckle- it was strange, but her sudden self excision from that moment left a feeling of void in Chloe, as though an expectation she couldn't fathom was crushed._ Ugh, why did i have to be drunk right now? This hella sucks.

_"Maybe you're right... but..." Alison looked back with Price's admission, and the Chloe could feel her drink fueled emotions corrupt into doleful recesses "What if i tell her, and it ruins it...? I can't lose Rachel too, i can't"_

_Alison was quiet in ostensible contemplation before she eventually sighed in a manner that seemed to deflate her "You wont lose her, she's a good girl that one... either she'll feel the same, or she'll be respectful of your feelings. I'm sure of that... and hell, even if she does throw your ass to the curb, you'll always have my sexy little ass wont you?" like the cheshire cat Alison's lips spread wide as Chloe couldn't help a fond laugh, wiping away tears between faltering chuckles "Now, come dance with me you prick, before i tell Rachel for you!"_

_"Tell me what?"_ Worst. Timing. Ever. _Leaning there in the doorway was Rachel looking more buzzed than a beehive, but Chloe didn't even get the chance to stammer out an poorly conceived lie before Alison did._

_"Chloe thinks you smoke pot like an amateur, spank her?" Chloe's mouth fell open, but both Rachel and Alison erupted into drunken giggles._

_"Maybe later" the teasing wink that Rachel threw her way set Chloe's heart aflame, she barely heard Alison's 'Ooh La La' "Fancy a dance, Chlo?" Rachel's hand extended to Chloe, who's cheeks filled with a treacherous carmine. Hesitantly she took it just as 'The Chain' by Fleetwood Mac emerged through the boombox... and over her friend's shoulder, Chloe could make out Alison sat on the beer cooler, two fingers split in a V at her mouth, with a tongue waggling teasingly between them._

Oh Alison, one of these days i will fucking kill you.

"That was a good night..." then why did it sit so sadly to recall it? Chloe didn't know... but as the day dream peeled back and reality blossomed, she found herself once more alone in a sea of faces. So many friends she didn't have, an ineffable number of conversations she couldn't join... she muttered a curse under her breath, wishing she was back in the dream. With nothing to do now but wait for Joyce, Chloe pawed for a nearby menu in the vain hope to entertain herself.

Her original intention was just to mind her own business, to peruse the menu in the hopes of maybe finding something appealing as she occupied herself... but that nefarious nosiness couldn't help but rear its Machiavellian head as her ears had other ideas- tuning into the background static on nondescript chatter, like shifting idly through garbage radio... until something catches you by the earlobe and tugs.

"You heard anything new about what happened?" a male voice said from a booth somewhere behind her... and the moment she tuned to its hushed and secretive tone, it was locked in "It's been over a week now, and nothing"

"No... Cleaver's still gone, the Boss has been losing his mind, ain't ever seen him so worried" the second, husky female voice chimed in. _Over a week ago?_ Like a beetle that dug in her mind, crawling through the folds of her brain with no regard to comfort... she knew what that probably meant, but that notion troubled her for some reason _._ "I know him and Cleave were close, hell, even I liked her"

"Cleave could be a real asshat, but she was a good kid... I hope she shows up, for the Boss' sake at least" Chloe wanted to peer over her shoulder at the two, the temptation almost too much to resist... but she kept her face buried in that menu "He's had guys out looking for her, but so far, zip"

"Yeah, I heard a couple of them kicked in Lamia's door... you know she had that thing for-" the sound of a ruckus, a gasp, a muted gulp, and Chloe's eyes naturally creaked over her shoulder... and in her peripheral she could just make out the shaven haired woman grasping her companion across the table by his jacket's collar.

"Shut the fuck up, Monty... if Buckshot heard you saying that shit, you'd get both our head's kicked in!" the woman hissed and practically threw Monty into his seat's backrest as she released him with a huff of indignation "You know we don't talk about La- Underwood... Boss says so, after what she did" she corrected, the venom that Chloe heard in that voice was startling. _I wonder what she did? Gotta be something hella juicy to get these two worked up like this._

"Sorry, Polly, didn't meant nothin'... and I the heard rumors... I didn't know if it was true, is it?" in the corner of her eye, Chloe saw the woman, Polly, solemnly nodded in sour affirmation... it was then as she directed her eyes directly back to the menu, Chloe realized something. _Where the hell are the waiters? Wow, much service, such professionalism. Oh hell... Max what've you done to me?_

"Apparently... never liked Underwood anyway, she always had a 'vibe'... shit!"

"What?" Monty ask, and Chloe could barely hear them now

"Buckshot's coming this way, quick, drink your fucking milkshake and lets skedaddle" She had read the menu five times over by the time she heard them hurriedly leave, deciding it'd be better not to look... Chloe could feel the scrutinizing eyes of some of the regulars burying into her back, but she paid them no heed, hoping ignorance was bliss... that was until there was a strong tap on her shoulder.

"You Chloe?" The blue haired punk froze over immediately, I've been busted... _hella lame, Chloe... you're a lousy snoop without Caulfield._ She turned in her stool to face the tall figure stood behind her. Long slicked back hair and a short beard maimed by a half Chelsea scar on the right side of his face... there was not one scrap of color except for silver in his hair either, which matched wolf-like facial features all too well. His expression was hard to read, but he was decidedly regarding her in perlustration.

"That depends who's asking" her retort made the man smirk, and coil his large tattooed arms across his chest, images of bears, tally marks, and roses painted across them. Chloe's face remained defiant, her eyes gaining that angry sheen they manifested when she felt threatened... despite the lump in her throat she had to really push to swallow.

"I'm Bill, and you're Chloe alright... you're just how your mother described you, attitude and everything" he laughed then, and Chloe just narrowed her gaze at him. "Ease up kid, I was told to keep an eye out for you... Specifically: Blue hair, beanie, and attitude."

With each listing he checked it off with his fingers, before gesturing over Chloe herself to emphasize the fact it was spot on "And if you ain't noticed, it's a busy day. Come on, I'll get you Joyce's favorite booth"

And just like that, he did... Chloe watched, stupefied at the display she saw. Bill was casual in his stride over to the last booth, the one beside the Jukebox, and Chloe couldn't help but smile fondly to herself. _So that's mom's favorite booth, huh?_ Memories returned, of being blown away by Max's demonstration of her power... you know its funny, that after everything she experienced, that particular moment still filled her with wonder.

Reality beckoned Chloe back then, just in time to see Bill arrive by that booth... and the numerous bodies pilled in snorting and grinning like animals. All of them were tattooed men, some with shaved heads, some with piercings, but all possessing that look. That look that said 'I'll crack your head open if you so much as breathe my way'- The kind of look that she imagined Frank wished he could pull off half as good as these guys.

But then they saw Bill, and that look changed- in an instant they became children, scared of the potential of their parent's wrath. Bill never raised his voice nor did touch any of them, all he did was say "Pick another place to drink your beers" and with a gesture of his head to move elsewhere, the group were quick to get up and shuffle to the other side of the diner, far away from him.

Bill gestured for Chloe to come over and after catching herself nodding lightly at Bill, ditched her new-found friend, the menu. She was impressed, that she couldn't deny, but she didn't want him to know that. Catching the looks awe and bemusement from a couple of other patrons, all trying to hide the fact they were staring, Chloe pushed herself from that creaky stool and joined Bill at the freshly fumigated booth.

"Who are you? You some kinda bogeyman, Bill?" Chloe asked teasingly, but her playful tone cracked ever so slightly under the secret weight of the apprehension she couldn't help tingling at the base of her spine - Bill had a certain presence, held himself like a veteran of some unknown conflict, and it had the effect of making appear both welcoming, and frightening. He simply flashed a knowing grin, and shrugged his shoulders.

"Only if you have an attitude" with that, he winked, and slapped the leather of the booth's seats invitingly. Chloe sat down and slid over to the window, taking off her blazer and rolling up the cuffs as she got comfy. "Right, I'll go let Joyce know you're here... you want anything, food wise?" he said, nodding to the menu, unaware that Chloe could probably recite most of it off by heart now.

"I'm in a mood for pancakes, Joyce will know which... and any chance of a beer?" flashing him her winning smile, she couldn't help but chuckle along with Bill when he burst into laughter, and her own nerves eased. "What?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Nothing, you just remind me of someone- and how did I know you'd ask that?" he said, folding his arms, his face a picture of his entertainment "If it were up to me kid, sure... but you know Joyce. It ain't gonna happen... a root beer? That's a definite maybe"

"Oh, I suppose it'll have to do, Bill" they shared an amused smirk, and the wolfish Bill gave Chloe a thumbs up.

"Good choice- it was nice to meet you Chloe" he flashed her one more smile, and with the scar marring his cheek, it faltered almost forlornly on one side enough for Chloe to notice, but without another word he just nodded and stomped down the length of the diner.

Chloe watched him until he disappeared round the corner and into the back, and couldn't help but smirk when he pointed to his eyes, and then to the group he had shooed earlier, all of whom shied away from his gesture like vampires from a crucifix.

Once more, Chloe was alone again with her thoughts. The Jukebox had lost its crowd and its melody, all that permeated the air around her now was the white noise of uninteresting chit chat and the smell of freshly prepared meals. They didn't smell half as good as what the Two Whales could produce, the aroma sat slick in her nostrils like the grease the food was no doubt drenched with.

_That'll change with Joyce behind the counter,_ _way too much pride to play that shit,_ chortling Chloe pushed up to furthest end of the bench, and lazily folded up beside the window... watching the cars go by. Portland, like Seattle, was constantly alive... at least in comparison to Arcadia Bay.

It wasn't Hollywood but this is what she wanted, city with a heart-beat, a pulse. It was the antithesis of what she believed her home was- the sleepy sea-side town where nothing happened and dreams came to die- though she didn't even want to remember how wrong she was, Arcadia Bay proved to anything but either, towards the end at least.

_Everything really is different now, huh?_ With a thumb she hooked her bullet necklace from beneath her blouse, gently rubbing the metal skins of those full metals as she rolled them in her light grasp. She'd been doing it a lot recently, it helped her wind down as though each roll of the bullets was a little less pressure on the spring trap that was her mood... ready snap such and take the hand of the one who triggered it.

Yet she never had to resort to it when Max was there.

_Oh, Max..._ Chloe mumbled something even she couldn't understand, and sluggishly dragged her beanie from her head and carelessly flopped it down on the table. She wanted to text Caulfield, to rebuild what she feared was damage to their bridge... she'd been accused of paranoia before, and that's all Chloe hoped it was, but regardless of hope she couldn't help but worry despite all her bravado. _Please don't be mad at me._

The way Max had burrowed into her actually irked Chloe, sometimes... loathing the vulnerability it exposed within her core she buried beneath the attitude and humour. _I'm a dick at the best of times, and then here you come, Super Max... saving me and ruining me all at once._

_But I wouldn't have it any other way._

With a bittersweet, but mostly sweet, smile she pulled her smartphone from her jeans pocket and poked it, letting the lock screen flash. What was once Max's selfie, secured like a portrait in a locket for Chloe to longingly peer at when the loneliness got too much, was now a vibrant picture of them both. Chloe couldn't help but laugh at it every time she saw it, the day It was taken filled with such overwhelming warmth that she it spilled free of her smiling lips each time she looked at it, without fail.

" _Stop wriggling, Max! I'm trying to get the shot just right!" Chloe tightened her arm around Max's shoulders, and the smaller brunette's around her waist responded in kind. They were blushing hard, full of giggles and smiles._

_It was the day, the day the two arrived in Seattle together. The house was empty, Vanessa and Ryan both had quickly fled to procure food for a meal they never got a chance to eat, and they were stood among a meagre few boxes of their salvaged trinkets and clothes._

_It was all that remained, but it didn't matter, because as they stood there wrapped up in Chloe's flag side by side and arm in arm, the two had what they truly wanted. Each other._

" _I'm sorry, Chlobear" Max said with no real conviction, her face full of a grin that Chloe almost struggled to remember, feeling like decades since the last time she had witnessed it, and it bolstered her own smile several times over "Why don't we just use my camera?"_

" _Because, doofus, I want a little keepsake of my own" Chloe winked, lining up a shot just right "There I think I got it!"_

" _Yeah... you do" the breathy whisper that came from Max cleaved Chloe's attention downwards, her brain immediately reaching to find a witty retort... but when those lips, those impossibly soft lips, sealed upon her own? Her train of thought derailed in a brilliant moment... and was captured by the snap of her phone's camera._

You are so mine, Max Caulfield... _dropping her phone she gripped Max by the ass and lifted her up, wearing that flag like a patriotic cape now, and collapsed with Max into the messy sheets of that large bed._

"Chloe, anyone home?" snapped from her reverie Chloe's head flicked up to see Joyce looking down at her, fastening her coat as she watched her daughter with an inquisitive brow cocked "You ready to go?"

Chloe quickly cast one final look at that immortalized kiss on her lock screen, before stuffing her phone away. _Did I hear that right, home?_

"Home? Bit early ain't it, I mean, you haven't even fed me yet" Chloe's simper was met by a roll of her mother's eyes "Is everything alright?" she asked, defensively peering over the top of the booth across the sea of heads all minding their own business. With a placating motion of Joyce's hands however, Chloe eased back into her seat, eyes alight with suspicion, imploring her mother to explain.

"I'll feed you when we get home, Chloe" her mother said firmly, before sighing through her nostrils " and I'm fine, Chloe, it's just been a long day" Joyce admitted wearily, rubbing her temples, unwilling to meet Chloe's demanding gaze... which infuriated the blue haired Price enough to scowl "Did you drive here?"

"Well duh, did you think I was going to walk from Seattle, mother?" the look that Joyce threw Chloe's was originally built to scold, but when she saw her daughter chuckling at her own sarcasm, its foundation gave way and her lips curled fondly "Why'd you ask, didn't you?" Chloe stuffed her head back in her beanie and shuffled across the bench to stand, keeping her eyes trained from beneath the lip of her hat on Joyce... who seemed hesitant in deliberation.

"No, Chloe, I actually got a ride down here- from a friend"

_That was a quick addition, ooh la la, mother..._ shrugging on her blazer Chloe hid the twist of amusement on her face "A friend, huh?" her face was a picture of a sly intrigue when they faced once another again, but her mother merely waved it away and huffed.

"I'll talk to you about it later before you go back to Max, come on, I'd like to spend some time with my daughter before she runs off" Joyce moved to the door, and Chloe could only nervously chuckle before timidly following after her mother.

She didn't get far. The moment Joyce heard that apprehensive laugh she turned, hand on the door to leave... staring daggers at her daughter- and when Chloe clocked the sharp, irritated look from her mother, she couldn't help but giggle even more in mild anxiousness. _Oh, I'm in the shit now._

"Chloe Elizabeth Price" the bluenette gulped, _called it!_ "Please tell me you did not do what I think you did" the moment Joyce opened that door, Chloe shot outside like a startled cat, effectively gliding- _god bless me for having stilts for legs._

"I kinda did?" Chloe shoved her hands in her pockets, shrugging her shoulders honestly, only to be met by her mother's chagrin as they moved to her truck "Look, mom, Max's totally cool with it... I just told her me and you needed some time together"

Joyce stood there in a brief and wordless state, the smallest of smiles creeping along her face... Chloe couldn't help but roll her eyes a little.

_Every time. Every time... was I really such a shitty daughter?_ Since the storm, Chloe had made a concerted effort to address her mother properly and put a limit on the hassle she was so good at naturally causing... though with the lack of David Madsen, the latter became remarkably easy.

The former however? Not so much... it nearly killed her to cut down on the sarcastic use of 'Mother' and some still slipped through the cracks of her vocabulary, but she was getting there. It was Chloe's guess that hearing 'Mom' genuinely after so long still tugged on Joyce's heart strings.

"Look, Chloe... it's not that I don't appreciate it, but for the time being at least, your life is in Seattle with Max, you need to focus on that" _what does she mean by that?_ Chloe wondered, tonguing the inside of her cheek, but the moment she opened her mouth to inquire, she cut off by an all too familiar gruff voice.

"You guys heading off?" Chloe opened the car door, offering a wordless wave to Bill, who was lighting up a cigar by the front door. He waved back.

"Yeah, gonna spend some time with my daughter" Bill sucked in and expelled a pillar of smoke, a slither of a smile on his face obscured partly by the black cloud pouring like smog from a chimney from the burning tip of his stogie "And don't worry, I cleared it with Wyoming. Y'all gonna be good without me?" he erupted then in chortle, giving a thumbs up and a nod.

"I know, he told me, as this pit? Yeah, I can keep this dump together, don't worry... Have a good night, Joyce. You got a good kid, attitude 'n all" Chloe felt her ego grow and clicked her seatbelt in, giving Bill an approving wink and a thumbs up of her own which he reciprocated in kind before her mother climbed in the passenger side.

"Yeah, she's a real firecracker alright... and thanks Bill, have a good night" Bill nodded curtly before he turned on his heel and walked away, disappearing around the corner... leaving only a trail of smoke in his wake. _Bill the Tank Engine,_ Chloe mused... and she and Joyce alone once more. Chloe looked to her mother, then to where Bill, was, and back again before her mother audibly groaned.

"Chloe, you better stop wiggling those damn eyebrows at me" grinning like the trickster god Chloe did as requested, but she couldn't help but laugh out loud whilst she simultaneously stuck the truck in reverse and backed up.

"Was that your 'friend'?" Joyce facepalmed with a muffled 'Heaven help me' and Chloe pulled out onto the road "He's kinda hot, I guess, in the 'I'm gonna live in the woods and eat bears' kind of way"

"Oh Chloe, just shut up and drive" there was a stab at authority in that demand, but it broke under the weight of Joyce's own chuckles... and Chloe couldn't help but beam quietly to herself as they drove back to the new Price-Madsen Household; it was good to do this, to be like this with her mother... after so much resentment, to finally begin to shimmy past it, it felt a step in the right direction. _Well, better late than never, huh?_


	5. Monkey Tree

The night had flown by for Chloe, and as she lay on the couch of Joyce's apartment, she couldn't help but muse over where the time had gone.

It had been an interesting evening, she and her mother had for the first time in what felt like forever just sat down and talked to each other, sharing a meal and laughing through a lot of the night. Hell, Joyce even let Chloe have a bottle of beer, something she still couldn't get over- _maybe that new diner is having an effect on her_ , she chuckled, _or more accurately someone in it._

Truth be told, Chloe was still in a state of shock about that piece of news; Joyce had spent so long up Madsen's ass trying make it work that Chloe would never have thought that another man could ever appear in her mother's life again.

It would appear that belief was wrong, and Chloe broke into a disbelieving snort as she lay there staring at the ceiling.

"His name is Joel" she recalled Joyce saying over the casserole she'd made "He's a friend of Bill's, the big fella you saw earlier? He comes in a lot"

The amused intrigue Chloe felt then made her grin in the present "Joel huh? And what's Joel like?"

The description that followed left Chloe a little wide eyed; Handsome, tall, muscular, piercings, and knuckle tattoos- had she been into guys, she figured he sounded more her type than Joyce's, something her mother no doubt knew from the look that etched itself on Chloe's face.

Either way, Chloe was happy that her mother could still take a shine to another man, given all the shit that was still going on. Joyce was still married to Madsen, but it was clear to Chloe that her mother was caught between a rock and a hard place when it came to David... since the exposure of his surveillance system, things had fallen part, but when the storm came there was no closure to be gained- only a state of limbo, perpetuated by David's coma. Chloe couldn't blame Joyce for taking a liking to another man, but she warned her mother despite herself about rushing into anything... a rare moment of wise council that Joyce had rarely seen, but heeded all the same.

The rest of the night was spent reminiscing of golden memories and better times... most of their nostalgia stemming from the shining gallery of Chloe's youth, happier times, and some from the weed scented days of mischief from the past five years. Chloe and Joyce spent the night rebuilding bridges, and laughing all the way through.

Chloe had missed this, having spent so long buried beneath so much resentment and anger, years had gone by barely grasped; the pleasures of just being with Joyce, being a mother and daughter like it used to be, had slipped by her... but no more. The thought dragged Chloe's soft blue gaze across the room, where it settled on her mother's bedroom door.

Joyce had left it open a touch, unwilling to be totally separated from her daughter. It had amused Chloe at first, but secretly, she found it really sweet... and like a child after a bad dream she regarded that bridge to her mom with comfort. Joyce had gone out like a light the moment her head touched down on the pillow, Chloe on the other hand, couldn't rest.

There was too much going on in her mind, too many trains of thought careening around the rails of her imagination with little regard to her need to sleep.

 _Max_. It was the name stenciled on the biggest, loudest train there was, which was screaming without end in her thoughts.

Chloe reached out from the blue blanket she kept nestled around her like a cocoon, braving the cold to quickly grab her phone from the small table besides her makeshift bed before instantly reeling her arm back within the warm confines of her nest.

At this time of night, Joyce had warned Chloe that the apartment could get unnaturally cold, something about the heater being out of whack, Chloe couldn't rightly remember... but she hated it. Not because it was inconvenient for her, well not entirely, but because Joyce had to be subjected to it every night. _My mother deserves better than this_ , _we made it through the storm, things are supposed to be better than this_ , it was bitter and it was resentful, and it was another one of the louder trains rushing round her mind, before the steam of Max flooded her senses.

She unlocked her smartphone with a lazily paw of her thumb and checked her messages. Nothing.

 _Oh fuck..._ Chloe stared at the text inbox, feeling her heart begin to pound in her chest. Suddenly her nest became a prison, the comfy wool like glass fragments, she had to get up. The blanket was kicked back, exposing Chloe to an avalanche of glacial air as she planted her feet on the coarse carpet flooring and buried her face in her palm with a low groan.

_I've upset her haven't? Fucking nice one, Chloe, hella dope of you!_

With a quiet inward snarl she rose to her feet, tip toeing across the carpet to the kitchenette to pour herself a glass of water. According to her phone's clock it was hitting one in the morning. _Is that all?_ She thought with a huff, lightly tossing her phone onto the counter-top as she pressed the small of her back against the sink, helping herself to a small sip of her drink.

_Come on Max... you can't be mad at me for this, surely? Just... just fucking call me or something!_

She stared at her phone, waiting for the messaged she willed from on high. Nothing. Impatience abounded.

_Oh fuck it._

With a solid clunk of glass on the hard counter top she impetuously reached for her phone, thumbing open the screen "If the mountain won't come to Muhammad..."

 _Contacts, favorite contacts, Max_ \- moments from pressing dial she stopped in her tracks, her heart lunging up into her throat, quickly moving to silence the deafening and sudden burst of Bikini Kill's 'Rebel Girl.' Chloe's ringtone. _Well I'll be a monkey's uncle... Why do I feel apprehensive?_

The distasteful sensation was suddenly upon her like a bad smell, unshakable and faint... and after a moment of feeling her phone vibrate in her hand impotently, Chloe cleared her throat and answered.

"Chloe!" Max's voice was full of energy; the phone could barely contain her. Chloe couldn't help the goofy smile that crossed her lips "I was hoping you'd be awake!"

"Yeah... wasn't planning on being up at this ungodly hour, Maxipad" Chloe offered with an unseen smirk as she feigned tiredness sarcastically, only to receive a skeptical huff from Max on the other end of the line that only fueled the fire of Chloe's amusement "I'm actually surprised you're up, its past bed time for you isn't it?" Chloe teased.

"Oh ha ha, Chlo... but seriously, I have something to tell you" that warm edge was still there in Max's voice, riding upon an underlying seriousness that snagged Chloe's attention to its fullest. Despite herself, she felt perturbed, and that bad smell of apprehension got a little thicker.

"Well, what is it?" Chloe asked after a moment of silence on Max's part, fidgeting with hem of the massively over-sized t-shirt Joyce had given her to sleep in. It was Madsen's, and knowing that at first Chloe could've hurled, but it had begrudgingly grown on her. Madsen was an asshat but at least he wore comfy clothes. "Spit it out, woman. Did you accidentally come out or something?"

"Its Kate, Chloe... my friend Kate Marsh" all the mirth in Chloe fell away, overcome entirely by concern. Immediately she found herself pacing as she heard Max's voice crack with an unreadable emotion. Max took a deep breath, Chloe held her's "Chloe... they found her, she's alive... oh my stars, she's... she's fucking alive!"

Chloe had to lean on the counter to stop herself from falling over as relief washed over her with a crippling weight. It had been over a week, the searches for survivors were drawing to a close, it seemed impossible but there it was... _what was it what Max said Kate believed in? Miracles? Yeah... that must be what this is, has to be_. Max broke down into happy tears, and Chloe had to struggle to hold back her own, defiantly wiping their glittering beginnings from her eyes as she chuckled.

"Hey, don't cry when I'm not there to dry your eyes for you" Chloe cooed, and Max erupted into a happy laugh so airy and light it was like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders "When did you find out?"

"Maybe an hour ago, I've been locked in a Skype call with Victoria from the Relief Site" Chloe scratched her head for an instant, before she recalled that Victoria had managed to salvage her own laptop after the storm. She still couldn't wrap her head around Victoria's sudden goodness streak, but letting people contact their families out of town on her laptop's Skype was hella awesome of the Queen Bee, in Chloe's book... so begrudgingly, she had to respect her for that at least.

"Did you manage to speak to Kate too?"

"Yes, but only briefly... it looked like Kate had a knight in shining armor on storm day" Chloe perked a little when she heard that, and implored Max to go on with an inquisitive 'Oh?' and Max confirmed with soft hum "Mhm... yeah, there was a girl with her, she rode up in a Charger and found Kate in the Storm and rescued her. I'll tell you more when you come home tomorrow, and Kate's hoping she will be here too in the next few days"

 _A Charger?_ she pondered in nervously, _No... can't be._

Chloe's face contorted in surprise suddenly, and looked at her phone as if to double take "Wait, Marsh is what? She's coming up to Seattle?"

"Yeah... well, she's hoping so. Her family was visiting the city just as the storm hit and prepping to come back to see her, and her dad rushed down to try and pick her up from the hospital when he heard what was going on... he ended up pretty badly hurt, Victoria told me. So their gonna see if they can arrange for some transport... apparently they might consider asking the Knight, well, once she's been patched up anyway..."

"You catch this _Knight's_ name? And what about me, i could drive down and pick her up if you'd li-?" the reflexive bark of NO! down the Max's end jerked Chloe from her phone "Whoa there, what the hell Maxipad? Why shouldn't i go down there?"

The blue haired punk distinctly heard the mumbling of a curse under Max's breath, and all concern of the Knight's identity slipped into the ether "Come on Max, out with it... I don't like being kept in the dark"

"I'm not keeping you in the dark, Chlo... But fine... i don't want you to go because i... well... Victoria told me, before you called to tell me you weren't coming home, that a cop approached her, and he was looking for you. I caught his name in the Skype chat, I didn't ask the first time... she checked his ID, he looked legit"

Chloe was pacing furiously now, back and forth, a hand in her hair, knotting itself amongst the strands "And? What's the name?"

"Calhoun... Vic couldn't remember his first name, but does that name mean anything to you?" Chloe chewed the inside of her cheeks, practically gnawing them. _No, this cant be happening. What the fuck does he want?_ "Chloe?" startled back to reality, she stammered as she raced to form words to fill the silent void she had made with her thoughts.

"Calhoun, he... he's a Portland cop, came to town a long time back... he was on Frank's case about something. I don't know why he's looking for me, I swear Max, he might just be looking for Frank- not like the guy's got a hella clean track record, probably gone back to bad habits y'know?"

Silence. For a few painful moments all Chloe could hear was Max's breathing, before finally she uttered "Okay" and Chloe felt the python about her chest, crushing the air from her, suddenly loosen "Are you still coming home in the morning?"

"I made you a promise, Max... I'll never break a promise to you, you know that" Max's sniffles came through the line "I love you" the sniffles stopped soon after.

"I love you too... can we Skype? I want to see your dorky face"

"Hey! My face is panther-like in its graceful beauty!" Max burst into laughter, and Chloe couldn't help but do the same "Besides... I don't think I have Skype here"

"Yes you do" Max said, and air of smugness to her voice "I installed it on your phone just last time you left it unlocked... I love the wallpaper, by the way"

Chloe's cheeks began to burn, the tips of her ears ebbing with heat as she clumsily smiled at her phone "I do too... right, enough mushy mushy, I want to see my girlfriend's sexy face!"

"Oh my stars... you are far too much sometimes"

"You love it"

"I know, I'm hopeless aren't i?" the line disconnected as Skype flashed up with an invitation to a call, it would appear Max kept the app signed in _, How very sneaky of you, Caulfield!_

They stayed together on Skype until Max could no longer keep her eyes open, her emotional exhaustion having taken a bigger toll on her body that she would've cared to believe, and their call ended two hours after it had begun. The last thing Chloe saw before she decided to let Max sleep in peace was her beautiful girlfriend curled up asleep in their bed... wearing one of her white tank tops. She might have taken a screenshot of this particular vision, but she would issue no official comment... _i totally took that snapshot, and Max has no idea! Yeah, i can be sneaky too, Max._

Once again, Chloe was alone. Joyce never once stirred throughout the entirety of Chloe's talks with Max, and now awake at the Devil's Hour, Chloe only had her thoughts for company.

 _So Calhoun's looking for me, huh_... she mused mordantly, fingers anxiously drumming against the sink she was hunched over. _Why now? Why after the storm? I thought all that shit with Alison got settled months ago!_

In an instant there they were again, Chloe, Rachel, and Alison... laughing and drinking like fools in the junkyard, throwing empty beer bottles against the body of the freight trains blowing past them for nothing but their reckless pleasure and the satisfactory sound of exploding glass... before it all went to shit- and instantly she remembered why that memory she recounted back at Wormwood's drenched her in melancholy despite the smiles it brought forth.

She remembered what transpired not long after, the carnage of it all, the bridges burnt and buried, and the impossible schisms that opened up in its wake. _Fuck, Alison... I'm so sorry. I wish I could tell you that, wherever you are... but I'm so fucking sorry._

Then something occurred to her. Frank. Disregarding the hour Chloe took her phone in hand and punched out a text, she figured that someone like him would likely be a night owl anyway, and well, frankly she didn't care much if she woke him.

_**CP –** _ **Yo, Frank, Its Price. You up man? Need to talk, its important.**

A reply came ten minutes later.

_**FB –** _ **Girl I am a little busy at the moment, what do you want?**

_**CP –** _ **You still in Portland?**

_**FB –** _ **Yeah, I stay in Briar Bridge these days, why?**

_Briar Bridge, huh? Figures... The Thorn in the City of Roses, makes total sense._

_**CP** _ **– I need to ask you a favor, wouldn't ask if I didn't need it... especially after everything that happened in the past.**

Another ten minutes passed before his next message came through.

_**FB –** _ **You've got some serious fucking lady balls, Price... what do you want.**

Chloe breathed a sigh of relief, _he didn't totally shoot me down, that's a good sign._ They may have been on better terms now, but it was like walking on egg shells with Frank... but at least he couldn't ride her for the money anymore, having paid him back, that now doubt made this a hell of a lot easier.

_**CP –** _ **I know you've got some connections in Portland... I want you to see what you can find out about Alison.**

_**FB –** _ **I told you never to mention Shuck to me again, after the whirlwind of shit that girl kicked up for me and Rachel, and you too, right? Why the hell would you want to know about that bitch now? Did the storm shake your monkey tree or some shit? She's gone, Price, and good riddance.**

_Shuck._ She had almost forgotten that was his little code-name for Alison... it was the only one she knew, that was until she and Max got his list. It still made her blood boil.

_**CP –** _ **Cut the shit, Frank- I wouldn't be asking if I didn't need to know, okay? And bear in mind, your friends in Briar Bridge? You wouldn't even have them it wasn't for 'Shuck' remember?**

There was no reply for fifteen minutes, Chloe glowered.

_**CP –** _ **So, you gonna help me or not?**

_**FB –** _ **Consider this the last favor I ever do for you, Price. I'll ask around, see what I can find out. I'll text you when I know more, but for now? STFU and let me enjoy my night.**

_**CP –** _ **One more thing... apparently Calhoun has popped up again. I don't know why, i don't want to know either, but that's just a heads up.**

_**FB –** _ **How do you...? You know what, i don't care. Anyway, thanks. Now STFU.**

And that was that, she would have thanked him for agreeing to help, but there was hardly a point. Instead Chloe just threw herself back onto that couch, her phone sat face down on her bare thigh as she briefly stared at the ceiling ponderously. It was looking like Chloe had survived one storm, only to encounter another... but she couldn't dwell on it, nor would she, because who knew where that would lead? Chloe didn't want to find out.

All she wanted was to see Max, to wrap her arms around the small brunette and melt into her... and so she got comfortable, curling up on the couch and wrapping herself in that cover once again. Chloe couldn't help the momentary somberness that descended upon her in her silent reflection of the evening- ghosts of a past long lost rising from their graves to haunt her. The ghost of Alison... and the ghost of Rachel.

"At least I still have you, Max... at least I still have you" Chloe drifted off staring at her phone, her eyes lovingly settled on the picture of a sleeping Max in her tank top, wishing she could be there in person... but in the affectionate arms of imagination, she found solace, and swiftly she slipped into dreams. The morning couldn't come quick enough.


	6. American Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes at the end of chapter from here on

**October 21** **st** **2013**

The cold early morning gusts of the Portland breeze had Chloe shivering in her boots as she stood there in the car park of a small burger joint, wrapped up in her beanie and a red chequered parka of stylish slimness. Truth be told, it was actually small on her despite her lithe physique, but it was all she had to hand for the weather, which had oddly turned over night.

Like a stealthy Ninja she had left Joyce's pad, letting her mother sleep in and get her well deserved rest.

Chloe was up earlier than intended, far earlier... she had a promise to keep to Max, but there were other matters to attend to which had been keeping her awake most of the night. Old friends, former acquaintances, for both had pushed to the forefront of her mind. Indignantly she shook her head of those thoughts, and chose instead to peek once more at the time with a press of her phone's lock button.

_Hmm... you're hella fucking late, Bowers... where are you?_ Price muttered to herself, tapping a foot against the tire of her truck as she leant there and for the tenth time looked around the deserted car park.

Taking a deep drag on her cigarette she mulled over climbing back in her car for the third time for warmth, but she had become animated by restlessness. Chloe wanted to get home to crawl in bed with Max and wrap herself in the warmth of that duvet, not wait around for a fucking drug dealer... even if she had pestered him for information. It was Max who had been bestowed with patience, unfortunately Chloe had very little of the stuff.

A rattle of poor suspension caught her ear then as a beaten RV rode up onto the tarmac of the car park, sounding like the poor junker was about to shake itself apart as its exhaust pipes spluttered and boomed with the labour of merely working. The engine was emitting a whine so wounded and pathetic that it seemed to cry out for an end to its suffering.

Chloe sighed quietly in relief and threw her cig to the ground, grinding it out beneath her heel as the travesty that called itself a mobile home parked up greedily across several parking spaces. Then it's rickety door swung open, and the blue haired punk winced at the sight.

"So... where's Thelma?" The familiar voice called, grunting in amusement.

With great difficulty Frank Bowers dragged himself out of the smoky shadows of the RV and into the overcast pale blue hues of the windy morning, trying hard to swing a leg that no longer seemed to respond to his commands. In fact, it looked stiff, wooden even... and as he hobbled towards her, Chloe could have sworn she heard it creak.

"You done staring, shit for brains?" Chloe was roused from her staring by his words, clearing her throat only to notice his sleepless sunken eyes staring into her soul. Dishevelled, and smelling heavily of bad pot, there was a quiet moment as Price processed him.

"Yeah, sorry..." Chloe offered with only partial reluctance. She hadn't seen him since they dragged him and Pompidou from the tipped ruins of his old RV... the dog was fine, but his leg? Fuck... butcher's windows looked less red "You uh... you got a pegleg now? That's pretty fucking rad"

_Nice one, Price, real fucking nice. Just can't rein in the awkward jokes._ He merely grimaced and rolled his eyes.

"I still have my leg, asswipe" Bowers huffed, the embittered look in his gaunt face seemed to fade, slightly, in place of very faint, very reluctant amusement "I got a brace on, makes walkin' a fuckin' chore but at least i can walk. I can't look like a boss with crutches, can I?"

"Tell that to Long John Silver... and you can't look like a boss anyway, Frank, but props for you for trying" Price's smirk caught a glimpse of ire from the limping dealer, who cleared his throat when it did little to actually reach it's intended effect "By the way, why meet here instead of Wormwood's? It's in the Briar Bridge part'a town... plus, actually pretty fuckin' dope"

The disappointment in Chloe's features were mixed with bewilderment, how on earth could a man like Frank not relish the chance to dine on some beans in a fine establishment like Wormwood's? Where the music is loud and the company somewhat frightful? Madness...

When Frank seemed to instinctively shrink by the tiniest fraction, Chloe's bewilderment turned into fascinated curiosity.  _Frank looks scared... that's a new one,_  she mused to herself in disbelief... but recollecting a certain wolfish bruiser scaring an entire booth of punks from their seats chipped at the disbelief a little.

"I ain't all that welcome there, Buckshot doesn't take kindly to dealers in his local"

Chloe perked at that.  _Buckshot... wasn't that the guy those two in the booth mentioned before Bill tapped me?_ She wondered, though she was positive he was.  _Guy seems to have a bit of a rep... Especially if he can scare Frank? I don't wanna get on his bad side._

"Buckshot? Pretty sure I heard that name thrown about in hush-hush-shit-your-pants tones yesterday when I popped in to see Joyce..." Frank merely nodded, sagely.

"And fuckin' rightly so... I'd say avoid him, but if you're digging about for information on Shuck? That ain't gonna be possible" It was Chloe's turn to pale slightly, though she amped up her bravado in natural Price fashion in the hopes her own nerves wouldn't trip her up... it was surprisingly easy, considering she was now vexed.  _He called her 'Shuck' again._  White knuckled she swallowed the ball of tension in her chest, if only because she didn't want to swing at him and waste this entire fucking effort of getting up to meet him.

"And why's that, huh?" Chloe spat, and Frank's lip curled with the subtlest trace of entertained smugness at her rise.

"'Cause Alison and Buckshot were like that" Bowers held aloft a crossed pair of fingers to demonstrate his point, but she was more surprised he actually used her name "Him, her, and Wyoming were like family... if anyone is gonna know where she is, its him, or it's Wyoming... but you aint got no chance of meeting him, Price. Wyoming keeps to himself"

_Okay... so I'm stuck with the big bad Buckshot... fucking great- and who the hell is Wyoming?_  Letting out a weary sigh Chloe dragged off her beanie, running fingers through her greasy blue hair as she took a moment to herself.  _Dog, I need a shower._

"So" she practically grunted before stuffing her hat back onto her head, and meeting Frank's gaze once more, defiantly "Where do I find Buckshot?"

Frank coughed a quiet chortle, almost as if he was impressed, or tickled- his eyes screamed a certain uncertainty as though he was trying to weigh up whether or not she was very smart or very dumb.

Often, both.

"There's a little butchery across the street from Wormwood's, Fitzpatrick and Sons. You go there before 7pm and ask for Buckshot, you'll find him. You want some friendly free advice though, Price?" Chloe looked at him incredulously, grimacing at the way he punctuated those last five words, and he carried right on with his point "Don't bother. Just let it go. The day that Calhoun dragged Shuck outta Arcadia Bay was a fucking black cloud gone from all of our heads... after she nearly got Rachel-"

The words caught in his throat, Chloe's chest tightened.

"-nearly got Rachel arrested for possession. I mean fuck sake Chloe, she nearly got her put away! Where is your god damn loyalty?!"

Chloe's anger suddenly exploded in a violent shove, palms barreling into Frank's shoulders so hard he nearly stumbled onto his ass with the weight of his dead leg. He tried to square up, but the pain he was now in wouldn't permit it... but he glowered like a demon, just as irate now as Price.

"Stop calling her Shuck!" she damn near screamed "And don't you ever fucking question my loyalty, you son of a bitch! Not after you fucking gave up looking, you piece of shit" Chloe snarled, eyes glistening with fury and passion as she got up fearlessly into his face... a face that was lacking some of the fire he started with "I loved that girl, I loved her so god damn much it still hurts to think about her! But what happened wasn't Alison's fault..!"

He scoffed at that "Funny... because you used to agree with me on that one" the bitterness of his tone was unbound.

"Yeah... I used to" She took a deep breath, cooling her jets as a significant silence stretch between them unfurled "Look, Frank-" the energy in her voice petered out, the flames now smoke that she breathed out in a doleful whisper- Bowers cut her off with a silencing wave of his hand.

"Save it, I don't wanna know. I did my bit; I told you what I could find out. Now if you don't mind, I'm getting the fuck out of this parking lot. You want weed? You talk to me. Otherwise? Keep the fuck away. We're done."

Hobbling away Bowers moved with all the lopsided grace of a broken man. The Storm had taken his physical power from him; the loss of Rachel had taken his capacity to feel. As he clambered into the RV, started up that squealing pig of an engine and drove away, Chloe wondered what was actually left of the Frank she used to know... and why a husk was walking around with his face.

Alone once more Chloe was forced to contend with her frustrated self, kicking her tire and smacking the truck's bonnet with the meat of her palm in anger as her emotions bubbled up with no one to unleash it upon.

"Fuck!" Price couldn't help but bark, vocalizing that stress that she needed to get off her chest thanks to Bowers getting under her skin. Even with Arcadia Bay leveled, all its history crushed or blown away, there was no escaping the past.

_But..._  she started in hopeful realization,  _maybe I can fix this with Alison... she wasn't in Arcadia Bay, so the Storm didn't touch her... she lives here in Portland. I just gotta find her and... Make amends, I guess. I can set this right; I can fix what I fucked up. Yeah, I'm Chloe fucking Price! I can introduce her to Max, make an unholy riot sista squad! It's going to be Amazeballs!_

Hyping up despite herself she quickly got into the warm interior of her faithful old truck, clinging to hope that another friend hadn't been swallowed whole, gone from her world forever. She had Max, and for that she would be forever grateful... but she didn't want to lose anyone else that she cared for. Rachel was enough. In spite of the hype there was that guilt again, the guilt that seemed to always come with memories of Alison like a bell around the neck of her ghost.

" _Get the fuck out of here Alison, don't you ever come back, you hear me!? Don't you ever fucking come back!"_

_Alison was trying not to cry, her face tight and lip shaking... Chloe wasn't much different "Chloe, please, it's not what you think! I came here to see you, I fuckin' missed you, I know you're suffering... I just want to help!"_

_A shove, a scream, a blur, a flash of EMT blues and reds-_ A knock on the truck window.

Startled, Chloe jerked to life with a quiet yelp. Yanked by the bungee cord of reality she had been saved from falling too far down into that dark rabbit hole and tumbling into a sense of culpability; now fully aware of the painful grip she had on the steering wheel as she sat there, she uncoiled her grasp and flexed away the stiffness, trying to avoid eye contact with a clerk from the burger joint hovering outside her window.

"If you aren't ordering, you gotta go" He stood there, adjusting his infuriating little hat as he planted his hands on his hips to assert his wiry self, though the strong winds threatened to pick him up and blow him away. Chloe regarded him with a quirked brow, unmoved by his display. She'd dealt with David Madsen, enough said.

"Keep your damn panties on, I'm goin'" rolling his eyes he walked off, either too concerned with the cold or too tired to deal with Chloe silently shoeing him away... but with the sound of the doorbell indicating his disappearance back inside, she allowed herself a moment, and slouched against her chair.

_Dog do I hope I can fix this, please, please let me fix it..._ her thoughts drifted then to what she had to do to even get a shot at that. Find Buckshot. Luckily she knew where, and how, but his reputation left her decidedly worried- not that she'd ever admit that, even to herself.

And so, swallowing her fear of being chopped up and sold in pies Sweeney Todd style, Chloe uttered her simple two word mantra and started up the engine.

"Fuck it" and she was off, racing off towards Wormwood's... for her meeting with the butcher himself.  _Buckshot,_ she rolled the name around in her head, wondering where on earth it came from... she had a couple of ideas, none of them pleasant. _I'm gonna have to play this really fucking cool, keep the attitude to a minimum... if i can do that i should be fine._ She blinked... Tone down the attitude? _Oh hell, I'm gonna die._

Thoughts of Max bloomed brightly in brief time she spent on the road... she wanted to just go home now, wrap up Caulfield in her arms and squeeze the freckles from her beloved bestie- but she couldn't. Despite the danger she felt she might be entering into, Price was too wound up now about Alison to simply comeback another day, too impatient to just wait till her next visit with Joyce. No, it had to be done now while she was in Portland, or she'd never be able to rest. Her impatience and recklessness would get her killed one day she figured... time would tell.

* * *

The ride did not take long, Portland was a big city, but it felt small to Chloe Price. Briar Bridge seemed to be her new haven, and it was very much an American Rust for the people... albeit one with lots of cosmetic surgery and a thin veneer of pretty paint to hide to the corrosion.

The Thorn in the City of Roses some people called it- it wasn't hard to tell why. It was run down, home to small businesses and a strong rock and punk scene that had never really moved away, breeding a sense of anarchism that left the place uncared for as a result. But despite that, it was actually rather homey... punks and rockers were almost everywhere, skating or drinking, perched in underpasses or lodged in bars themed around eldritch beings.

Long story short Briar Bridge was hella cool, even if it's record with crime wasn't the best- and it was home to Wormwood's.

Motorcycles lined the far end of the lot and Chloe was far from surprised, even at this time in the morning the place was busy but fortunately there were plenty of places to park. Wormwood's struck Chloe as the heart of Briar, a haven for its denizens to swamp in and have a laugh and a meal... though the harder she stared at it, Chloe could see the ghost of the Two Whales, and all the memories that came with it. Maybe Wormwood's could be the new Two Whales? It would take time, but, who knew? Seattle certainly didn't seem to provide an alternative.

Exiting her truck Chloe cut the engine, stuffing her car keys in her pocket alongside her hands.

_Geez, this cold is just not letting up is it?_  She glanced around as a shiver rushed through her, scanning for the butchery...  _Fitz something, right?_  Chloe recalled as she hummed impatiently... before catching sight of a lanky figure slipping into a doorway. Above which read in bold blue, and very obvious curly font: Fitzpatrick's and Sons. Butchers.

_Detective Price strikes again._  With an inward roll of her eyes she jogged lightly across the road slowing only when she heard the soft mumblings of chattering voices... and her inner sleuth couldn't help but drag her to a halt, and listen out of sight.

"Any word yet from Cleave? Not like her not to message... It's weird not seein' her working behind the counter with you..." the female uttered, her voice one she could vaguely recall, but where? She searched her memories, praying the green hadn't mangled her short memory too badly.

"No, none yet" Thought processes stopped.  _Is that Bill?_  "She headed out on personal errand a couple of weeks ago... but I'm sure she's fine, you know what she's like; and yeah, the shop feels empty without her"

_Yeah, that was definitely Bill..._   _Why does he work here? Truthfully she could hazard a guess or two._ A sigh of relief followed-  _Good, that'll make this easier- we're tight!_

"Oh boy do I know what she's like" the two shared a quiet laugh between themselves, and Chloe frowned softly. She could feel the worried ache behind their chuckling, because she knew it herself "Anyway, I hate to do this, but you mind if I can head up to her pad? I left some clothes up there a couple of week's back, kinda need them back"

"Sure, Lucky. The door's unlocked, head on up- but break anything and I'll snap your pool cues" Chloe could practically hear his grin. The jostling of a door handle and the sound of boots disappearing upwards indicated to Chloe that there was nothing left to snoop on, and that Bill was finally alone for a chat with the Supreme Price. And so, ignoring the fact her lips felt as blue as her hair, she pushed inside with the tinkle of a bell, and was greeted instantly by a smell that actually... wasn't all that bad.

It was a small space, dominated by a large counter and display which held dozens of varieties of meat while a small UV light hummed on the back wall. It framed Bill's head like a synthetic halo... one that vaporized anything unlucky and small enough to come too close. Chloe cleared her throat.

"Mornin' Billy bob" she quipped, and sharply the wolfish butcher's head looked up from the cut he had busied himself with. The sardonic smirk that crossed his lips was a winner; clearly this was an unexpected pleasure "How's it shakin'?"

"Oh, not bad..." the powerfully built man slowly stood erect, folding his arms as he did so. God damn he was tall, Chloe nearly had to crane her neck to look up at him "So, how can I help you? If you're looking for Joyce, she doesn't start at Wormwood's till the afternoon today"

_How does he know that?_  Chloe's brows furrowed as she assessed him then, did everybody just know everybody's business round here?  _Dog, it's just like Arcadia Bay._

"Nah, I just came from Joyce's actually" Bill's head tilted, his stern features creasing slightly with puzzlement, shrugging his shoulders, not sure what she could actually want from him then.

So, swallowing nerves, she cleared her throat "I uh... I came here because I need to speak to someone"

Something about Bill's demeanor changed then, the sarcastic humour that seemed to float around him receded into a cold seriousness as those eyes seemed to sharpen.

"Looking for who?" the power behind his voice made Chloe shrink faintly, and she was forced to clear her throat once more... feeling as though she swallowed sand.

"Well..." her nervous glance around made Bill's hands tighten about his bulging biceps as he stood there, waiting for Price to spit it out with urgency in his gaze "I... I need to speak to Buckshot"

Silence. What felt like an eternity of the stuff. Quietly the two just stood there in the ominous nothing... the only sound Chloe could hear being the muffled thumps of a person upstairs, but she could swear she heard the gears turning in Bill's skull. Or at least she hoped she did, because the way he was staring at her made her feel like he was sizing up which parts of her would go well with the pieces of meat in his display.

Then, he broke the silence.

"Turn the sign to closed, and follow me. Don't touch anything" without a further word he removed his apron and gloves, and pushed into the door marked 'Back Office.' Chloe wasted no time, and hurriedly flipping the sign she moved behind the counter and trailed behind the giant who had beckoned her, doubting only slightly that she had made the right choice.

But wrongs had to be righted. The Storm had shown Chloe how the world could change, how fate could twist and turn, how what you always knew to be true could suddenly be verified or shattered. Chloe didn't have the gift of the rewind, hell, Max didn't even seem to these days... but if she did? She'd be tempted to rewind, to fix it all... it made her happy that she didn't.

Quietly they moved down a short hall, past a meat locker, and into a small office that looked almost carved out or added on last minute, crammed in at the end of the path; it was simple, plain, wood chair and unremarkable desk, very Spartan. It screamed practicality only, and there were no to allusions to being anything more than that.  _At least he doesn't have a damn bronze eagle._

"So" Bill began, walking deeper into his office "First things first, you want to tell me who pointed you my way?"

The matter-of-fact detachment of his tone put a shiver through Chloe, who gave her best nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. She wouldn't snitch on Frank, even if she detested the slimeball... he did right by her getting her this information, and so steadfast she remained silent. Bill seemed to appreciate that, and wryly he grunted.

"Didn't think so" he stated, folding his arms once more as he lightly leaned himself against his desk, piercing Chloe with an analytically hard look "What do you want to speak to me about?"

Chloe's lip curled with the tiniest glimmer of roguish satisfaction, as a small part of her yelled 'called it' from the back of her mind. 'Buckshot Bill' however wasn't smiling.

"Spit it out, Chloe. I have things to do today- what do you want?"

"I'm looking for someone" the quickness of her response took both him and Chloe back, his face becoming a picture of wary intrigue, though the way he leaned forward betrayed the fact his attention was thoroughly locked in on Chloe.

Chloe was smart; she knew what she was doing, even if her sudden remark had been a reflex. Snooping had its perks.  _I'm looking for someone, so is he, let's make this work. Relate to him Price! You have the power!_

"Looking for who?" Bill inquired in a reluctantly sympathetic tone, shuffling almost uncomfortably. Chloe sighed, seeing a flash of that night in American Rust, of dancing, booze, and Alison being a merciless tease.

"A friend from here, in Portland" Chloe drifted back and forth as she spoke, her slender legs utterly restless; they demanded she pace to keep the flow of her thoughts coming "Back before Arcadia Bay... before it-"the words caught in her throat, Bill waited patiently "-Before it got hit by the Storm you've probably heard all about... she used to visit a lot, like hella often"

The utterance of 'hella' made Bill perk in vague recognition, his eyes re-addressing her, but saying nothing yet- letting her continue.

"Then she stopped coming... that's why I'm here, I've been told you're the guy to see about this"

Bill huffed, bristling "What do I look like Chloe, a Private Eye? Why would I able to help you with this? Portland's a big place; Arcadia Bay was a scenic little spot- people visited all the time- how the hell am I supposed to help you find whoever this is?"

"Because I'm told that you knew her!" that easily poked frustration reared its head, and Chloe took a breath to quell it... before she noticed Bill shift. He was no longer leaning on his desk, he was stood, and slowly approaching her. "I'm looking for-"

"-Alison" they said simultaneously and Chloe nodded, feeling a very real fear squeezing slowly at her heart in its steely grip. His face was unreadable, but there was a degree of shock in his eyes.

"You're that bitch Rachel Amber's friend aren't you? I should've known... 'Chlo', 'Chloe', how didn't I figure that one out?" The flames in Chloe rose in an instantly, but the minute her eyes set alight and her lungs filled with aggressive oxygen, he intercepted and continued"Was it you?"

The question muted Chloe immediately, confused and worried "Was it me that what...?" but she was certain she already knew what he meant.

"Was it you that put her in that hospital back in June? Was it you that hurt her?" He loomed over Chloe now, who shrank not from fear, but from shame "Answer me Chloe, was it you?"

But he didn't need an answer, he knew, Chloe knew he did... though she wouldn't look him in the eye. She couldn't.

"She thought the world of you, Chloe... even when you and Rachel left her to rot for three months in a jail cell. Three. Fucking. Months. But oh no, that wasn't enough was it?"

"I'm sorry... I was-" He cut her off and walked to the office door, opening it with a restrained degree of anger. Undoubtedly he could tear the door right off the hinges if lost control... and he was seething.

"Get out of my office, Chloe" Instantly her heart raced, she fought not to babble as her words fired free with close to the speed of an automatic rifle.

"No wait, please, just tell me where she is! Dude, I have to speak to her, I have to fix this- please, I miss her, I want my friend back"

Bill just stared at her, long, and hard. There was a fraction of conflict on his ferocious features as his brows furrowed, and his grip on the door's handle grew impatiently tight.

"You've had months to call, or text. Nothing. Trust me, she'd have told me if you had. Now get out, even if I knew where she was, I wouldn't tell you. Now get. Out." he got strangely emotional at that point; the door handle groaned trying not to snap.

But Chloe was completely silent, stunned silent in fact.

_So... that's what it feels like to be the end of that... it fucking sucks. I put it on Max so much in that week, reminding her how she abandoned my punk ass, and I can barely take it the once... you fucking suck, Chlo._

_Wait... wait a second..._

It dawned on her as she awakened to find her body drifting towards the exit with somnolent steps, snapping her back into the room. "Wait!" recklessly Chloe flew back towards the office, and forcefully jammed herself between door and frame- blocking it from closing... all the while being stared at by an infuriated Bill. But she didn't care "What d'ya mean if you knew where she was? What do you mean Bill?"

The crushing pressure threatening to turn her blue tinted paste was suddenly alleviated, and sharply she sucked in the air her lung had been denied, fighting back the anxiety in her gut. Bill looked pained, far more than he had been earlier, and both his face and eyes betrayed that fact.

"Alison has been gone for nearly three weeks... just, gone... without a word. I don't know where she is... but I wish I did..." Chloe's body went slack, but was fortunately spared being smothered by the doorway. She was gone too, mentally anyway.

_It's happened again. The fucking universe is taking people from me again! What did I do? Why is it fucking doing this to me?!_  Tears tried their best to fall as her mind instantly went to that dark place, almost unwilling to accept hope in light of Rachel. Bill just watched her, she didn't care, she was too overcome by that familiar emptiness that she felt all too frequently... before Max came back into her life. But then something rose up within her, from the depths of the hollow bleakness, rising like a phoenix.

Defiance.

_No. Not again. Never again._

"Who saw her last?" Bill was taken aback by that, leaving him speechless for a good moment "C'mon Billy Bob, I need to know where to start- can't get my snoop on if you don't speak up"

Bill was staring at Chloe with narrowed, calculating eyes, just trying to work the punk out "...you really are serious about this aren't you?"

Chloe merely wiped her eyes, cracked her neck, and shrugged "What do you think?"

There was some familiarity about that stylish splash of sarcasm for Bill; she saw it register with him, breeze across him like a welcome scent. He actually smiled, it was next to invisible and bloomed in spite of him, but she saw it.

"I see why you two got on now" Had Chloe been in better spirits, that might have actually made her smile too... but she wasn't. She just waited for him to go on, piercing him with an impatient look "There's a girl, a friend of Alison's... folks call her Lucky. Of all the people in Briar Bridge that might've seen Alison last? It'd be her. She was here actually before you came, but she's probably gone by now"

Price glowered somewhat, not finding fate's little tricks funny, but nodded "So where can I find her?"

"Usually? Hustling... she likes to make her own luck, so she gets around. Hang on..." reluctantly the giant man disappeared into his office once more, quickly scribbling on a post-it note, before returning, cautiously rubbing it between finger and thumb "Take this. It's Lucky's number... You text her, you tell her I gave you the number. Just don't expect a reply any earlier than three in the afternoon"

After a moment of hesitation, looking between Bill and his proffered note, she reached out and snatched it. She was done here, her welcome had long since worn out, and her small degree of patience had withered entirely for the day. But she did now have a purpose. Turning sharply on her heel Chloe strode towards the exit, only to stop when she got there.

"Also, Bill? Two things, one, Rachel wasn't a bitch... and two?" saluting him with a middle finger she pushed on the exit and vanished from the butcher's sight, leaving Bill to throw himself into his creaky office chair... with a renewed sense of hope as he heard Chloe's distinctive truck screech away from Briar Bridge.

Chloe was beat, happily willing to sleep for days. Max was gonna get the hug a lifetime when she got back, no doubt. Home. It made her smile despite the morning.

_Finally... back to Seattle_. The punk flipped on her radio as she hit the road, sticking the note down beside bobble-head Elvis, who she booped for a fun little wobble and good measure.

**American girls, it's sad to imagine a world without you...**

_Syd Matters..._

It was a song that brought forth memories for Chloe, many of them, all slathered with bittersweet scents- and so she just turned the radio off, wanting no more sadness for today- she had to look forward, keep pushing.

_Alison, you tough bitch, I'm going to find you... please don't kick my ass when I do._

She wouldn't worry Max with this for now... hell she wished even she was unburdened by it just a little bit. It was too soon, they were a couple days into their new life, the Storm was over.

The storm is over. The storm is over... She repeated it so many times, just listening to the sound of the rain pulverizing her truck as she pushed towards on towards Seattle, pushed on back home. Pushed on back to Max.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the story has been on a bit of an hiatus for awhile (sorry about that) but i will be returning to this as i can, however my focus will be Overexposure. Thanks for sticking around, i hope you enjoy.


	7. Overcast

The Caulfield Home was steeped in a certain energy and it had been all morning, like a blanket of static.  _What are they talking about down there_? Max wondered to herself, it was all she could do seeing as she had been relegated to upper-half of the house while Ryan spoke with Penny downstairs. "I like Penny... but being forced upstairs while they talk? Not cool. I need a damn coffee..." with a exhausted groan Max ran fingers through her bangs, suppressing a yawn as much as she could as lay quietly on her colossal bed, trying to ignore how empty it felt without Chloe.

Max hadn't really moved since she woke up a good hour after she drifting off during her skype call with Chloe.  _That was totally lame of you Caulfield_ , inwardly rolling her eyes,  _falling asleep on your girlfriend like that... no doubt she's probably snapped a screenie to blackmail you with now_. Grinning to herself Max rolled onto her back, and found herself staring at the ceiling as her thoughts breezed over her. The grayness of the plaster made her squirm, and she shut her eyes to fall into the stream of thought.

 _I still can't believe Kate's alive..._   _I mean, holy cow... we spoke on skype! Wowser... say what you want about Victoria, but... she did it. She found her._ Kate's smiling face popped up in her mind, sat in that hospital with a renewed spirit, drawing those beautifully happy reflections of herself. Max smiled bittersweetly,  _It's sad that it took all that for Kate not to feel alone... but I'm glad she's okay now._  She remembered the Knight then, and she hummed in cogitation. "You managed to do what me and Victoria couldn't... you saved Kate from the storm, whoever you are... if I ever meet you, I'll be sure to thank you for that. I hope you wake you up soon" Max sighed, there was always a damn catch. A piece of fine print that ensured life got to screw you as hard as it could.  _Kate said this girl's been unconscious since they dragged her into the hospital's shelter... dog, I hope she'll be okay. I mean, she saved Kate Marsh... that has to account for something, right?_

Max was still wrestling with the fact that Kate had been trapped since the 11th... and couldn't help the feeling of culpability that swept over her.  _Maybe I should've stuck around longer... I could've been there when they found her, I could've helped... but what's wrong with wanting to just, go_? A flash of Victoria's face, twisted with anger and a surprising amount of betrayal flashed in her head.

" _Everything, Max- you're fucking running away to play happy families with Chloe and don't you pretend otherwise you shitty little hipster"_

 _So? So what? I felt like screaming at her_ "you don't know anything, Vic! You don't know the things I've seen, the choices I've had to make- you don't know a fucking thing!"

 _But instead I stayed quiet, I let her vent at me... because I knew she wanted to leave too. She just couldn't let go. I could relate, I mean, I let a whole town be wiped off the earth because I couldn't let go of Chloe, I wouldn't... I refused. How could I fire back at Victoria for the same?_ sighing she took a mental pause, circling her temples with her fingertips"But..." Max muttered hopefully "Maybe she can now... let go, I mean... even if she hasn't found Nathan"

 _No, Caufield, don't you even go there,_ she could practically hear the voice of Chloe echo in her mind, and wisely she heeded the words, pushing back the memory of that voicemail, the weeping words.

Chloe. An unwelcome anxiety knotted in Max's chest as she instinctively looked to her phone across the room, lying silent on the desk. She gnawed her lip, unable to suppress a slither of strange worry... even though she knew in her heart Chloe was just fine.  _She's on her way Max, just... relax, okay? It's a long drive between Seattle and Portland, and she promised she'd be back. Chloe wouldn't break her promise._

Taking a deep breath Max filled her lungs to capacity, and slowly exhaled with soothing intent. This was the first time the two had been away from each other, truly, since the storm had hit the Bay. Max's eyes suddenly went wide at that, her lips parting slightly in subdued shock.

 _Wowsers... we haven't really been apart have we...?_  It was a realization that made her room feel as though it had become even emptier, and its walls strangely tighter around her. Every night they slept near each other at the Relief Site, every day they were by one another's side... only parted by search party or site duties.  _But at the end of the day, we were always together again... hell, we'd even sneak into each other's cots sometimes just for the comfort._  Max noticed her hand creeping into the vacant space of her bed, fingers reaching out for a body that wasn't there, finding only empty sheets. She turned onto her side, bunching up the covers under her chin as she let out out a discontented huff.

She cast her mind back to last night to her Skype call with Chloe, talking about how Chloe's CV handing out went; the little everyday things Max longed for... and the prickly ball of worry shrunk.

Max's eyes creaked open and she sat herself upright with a groan of effort, her weary body cooperating on a depleted battery. It had been a long night, despite its greatness. Max had been forced to power through most of the morning with with a book before she finally caught a few more short lived Z's.

At one point she had been tempted to try and wake Chloe up for company... but she couldn't do that to her darling Price. She wasn't going to risk waking Chloe just because  _she_  couldn't go back to sleep.  _I mean, talk about selfish... Chloe did have to wake up early today, and she is most definitely not a morning person- so she needed the rest. A sleepy Chloe behind the wheel conjures all sorts of unwanted vibes... and I'd rather keep the 'Mad Max' title all to myself._

Snickering to herself Max slumped and elbows parked on her knees, draped in a comically over sized t-shirt... its neck barely holding onto one of her shoulders while the rest drowned her like an ill fitting dress. It had been one of her father's, but it had since become part of the Max Caulfield pajama collection, one of her favorite additions in fact. She rubbed her eyes and glanced around the room with heavy lids and blurred peripherals, just aching for some more sleep

"This is totally not fair... I feel like a crappy Romero zombie, ugh" The room was ashen in color, lit only by the dim glow of sunless skies peeking in through her windows. Not even Chloe's wonderfully patriotic makeshift curtain seemed to add any fond splashes, no hues of pink or cream... just the blankness of an overcast day that helped the shadows of her room pop, and creep if she stared for too long.

"Would it kill you to give me just a couple more days of sunshine? Wowsers... it's not much to ask" Max sarcastically muttered, though to who, not even she was sure... but she recalled that almost divinely upon the storm's passing, there had been nought but sunshine in Arcadia Bay. It felt like she was being mocked, at first... with such brightness you could almost never believe there had been a cataclysmic force of nature. Only the shattered town stood as a testament that it had. Everyday of that week before she and Chloe had moved to Seattle to stay with Ryan and Vanessa there was beautiful sunshine, and every night was perfect in its stillness.

It wasn't long before Max found herself swept up in an unwanted nostalgia, and awkwardly enough, she felt a pang of longing for the Relief Site.  _I shouldn't miss it, but I do... I was actually doing something there. I was helping... but I made the right choice, me and Chloe both did._

The resolute tone of her internal voice was just the tiniest bit forced, and she hated it- feeling that little nagging of insidious self-doubt at the back of her skull. It was better with Chloe around, her endless faith in Max kept that dire voice at bay... but alone? Well, it was difficult to be alone now, for more reasons than she cared to think about.

 _A gunshot, a needle, the flashes of cameras_ \- a sudden chill touching her bones, stirring her from her unwanted fever dream with a jerk and a shiver.

 _Wowsers... the weather really is pretty shoddy today. Did I leave the window open a bit?_ Wrapping herself up in her duvet Max shimmied off the bed, careful not to expose frail legs to the cold air, and took a grip of her phone to check the time.  _12AM..._  Max's brows furrowed in an instant "She's... late?"

Chloe had a reputation for her lateness, you kind of had to just take it as part of her blue haired package... but this was different, harder to wave off to just a charming facet to her character. She was maybe ten minutes, half an hour tops when she usually swaggered on in with that trademark roguish grin... never an hour.

Trailing duvet like a gown behind her, the waifish Max removed herself from her bed and approached the window, gently brushing Chloe's flag out of the way she checked the locks and frowned.  _No wonder it's so cold, you didn't shut it properly you idiot._  Through a crack Max could feel the fingers of the cold, reaching in and jabbing at her, and with a low grumble she pulled the window truly shut and locked it firmly- silencing the sharp whistle of invasive wind.  _Hold on... Wowsers, is that a...?_

Max stared at the creature sat in the tree beyond her window, partially obscured by a veil of unrelenting raindrops. It loomed in the cradle of the leafs, its feathery brown mass inconspicuous against the violently shaking rusty shades of the leafy mass it sheltered within. But it never moved, in comparison to the aggression of the weather it was perfectly still, anchored by large talons as it perched there- staring at Max, with big, round, black eyes.

Unconsciously Max's hands drew the covers in tighter around her, and watched as the striking Owl before her seemed to ominously withdraw into the foliage, disappearing into the unknown. There was a tremor of trepidation that ran through Max like the lash of an arctic whip as she watched the now empty space,  _that owl was hella intense... it was looking at me like I was mouse or something..._  it was not a pleasant thought, it made her jittery, and as she heard the wind pick up Max quickly drew Chloe's flag. No longer wishing to see the cloudy sky of mind-numbing overcast mottled with turning dark patches.

Instinctively Max's feet cautiously padded backwards, withdrawing the fragile Caulfield to the safer depths of her room. A black cloud fell upon her as she stood there, the shake on her bones not entirely from the chill anymore as she felt her heart quicken.  _Just stay calm... Max, stay-_

The boom of a thunderclap sent her rigid, stripping the fairness from her freckled skin, leaving her sallow in a flash of terror. It was insane how loud it was, so loud Max could've sworn the sky had sundered from the force.

Sensations fast flooded her as she shakily stood in the poorly lit confines of her room, wishing she wasn't alone... dizziness came first, then a tightness in her chest, and a heartbeat so loud and violent she couldn't tell if it was still thundering or not outside. An ominous feeling descended upon her like the cloak of a demon, and unable to chill Max found her body acting of its own accord as her perturbation reached its zenith... and she bolted from the room, abandoning her makeshift cloak as she flew like a spooked deer down the stairs. She just had to get out of the room and almost broke her door doing it.

There was no rational thought, just an urge to escape and a rising want to scream, one that wouldn't relent until she touched down at the bottom of the stairs. Clutching the banister like buoy she sat herself down on a step, damn near hyperventilating and trying not to drown in her dread... she wasn't aware of the fact that an alarmed Ryan Caulfield and Penny Nicholson were now staring at her from the kitchen doorway... or of the fact that it was her noisy and desperate descent that had drawn them out.

"Max? Max what is it, are you alright?" Ryan rushed to his daughter, snatching her up in his arms, urgently looking her over "Max, Max honey look at me... look, I need you to breathe with me, okay? Match my breathing. In, out... Good... In, out..."

Max's grasp was iron, her gaze locked onto her father as she fought the flight mechanism trying to take control, trying to make her kick and scream...Instead she was just breathing, sucking in a breath and letting it go in time with Ryan... albeit with tremendous effort. He nodded, smiling brightly, though the concern in his eyes was palpable.

"Good... good... I'm proud of you honey, you're doing so well. You're with me, you're safe... Just breathe with me, keep going..." it took several minutes of this before Max eventually calmed down, and eased into her father's hold. He never squeezed her, rather he gently stroked at her hair as Max clutched onto him with cheek pressed to his collarbone, letting her have total control. Penny said nothing, the tall Valkyrie instead opted to remain respectfully out of the equation, and retreat back into the kitchen to afford them some privacy.

"Hey there kiddo... been a long time since you had one of those" Ryan gently coaxed Max's head back, wiping the beginnings of tears away before they fell. Max was mute for a good few moments, ignoring a headache before nodding quietly to her father "Come on, me and Nicholson were actually about to shout you down... we have some news"

Max's head spun, her blue eyes staring knife points into her father as he affectionately, carefully, guided her to the breakfast bar, and sat her on a stool. She opened her mouth, Ryan intercepted with a shake of his head. "Not yet, alright Max? Lets wait for Chloe to get back. And as your father, I insist you give yourself a minute... You've not even had breakfast yet, so, I'm making you bacon and eggs. Penny?"

Penny turned, already rolling up her sleeves with an expectant smile on her lips. She nodded to Max, who shakily nodded back.

"Could you make some tea?" Nicholson's eyebrow cocked in mild surprise, before nonchalantly flicking on the kettle with a strangely delicate chuckle.

"I'd love to"

The three of them sat in silence not long after, just letting Max acclimatize and fill her belly. Ryan had a few rashers of bacon too, but had sacrificed himself a full plate for the sake of Max- as did Penny, who declined food in favor of a cup of Max's stashed away Earl Grey. Max blinked at her,  _how did she know where...?_

Penny caught the look, and wryly smirking she threw Max a knowing wink.

_Damn... she's good._

* * *

_The fuck happened to the weather dude? This blows!_ Chloe had her wipers working on full power as she sat in traffic, just listening to the rain beat off her rickety old truck and thankful that her heating was working for once- because it was hella miserable out there, and if the people amusingly rushing to escape the umbrella inverting wind were any indication, still pretty damn cold too.  _Sucks to be you guys,_  she snorted.

Chloe hadn't long made it into Seattle, but her little trip to Briar Bridge had set her back... and now for her delay she had been ensnared in the hideous grasp of congested roads. _Just what I need,_ Chloe thought with a frustrated groan,  _I'm gonna be stupid fucking late... this is so weak_.

Melting with dismay into her seat, Chloe's fingers idly drummed against her steering wheel as she did her best to zone out... trying to ignore her ever increasing want to light up and medicate her stress away. The blue haired girl had barely touched a joint after the storm hit, after all, Frank was MIA for a bit and the town was a damn ruin... Chloe's only supply were a couple of crappy little spliffs she had tucked in her jacket in a little clear zip-bag marked 'Emergency Supply' much to her own amusement.

It quickly stopped being funny however when she was forced to ration three pathetic little roll ups across the week.

 _God I could kill for a joint right now..._  Chloe's hands twisted with irritated tightness on the steering wheel, trying not to picture Max's sad little face at her being as late as she was. Chloe was painfully aware of the time, so much so that she avoided looking at the time for fear it might starting yelling SHAME!

"Ughhh! Can this fucking traffic get a move on?" struggling to remain calm Chloe punched her horn with two aggressive thumps to help ease the pressure, beginning a little chain of fellow drivers honking not long after "What's the fucking hold up?"

" _ **...After yesterday's uniquely vicious attack in Belltown, we've been getting reports that incidents of the same nature have begun to become more widespread along the coastal areas, and have been moving further inland over the past three days as the weather worsens..."**_

Chloe's felt her gut instinctively bunch up as she heard the radio, her eyebrows furrowing "What the hell...?" She murmured as she turned it up, leaning forward in the cab as she rested folded arms across her dash and planted her chin attentively on the back of her hands.

" **...** _ **This marks the first encounter with the violent phenomenon here in Seattle, but officials are clear on the stance there is no need for alarm. There is still no clear indication as to the cause as it stands, but according to sources, the phenomenon first emerged following the great tragedy in Arcadia Bay in its neighboring towns- more as it follows! Now onto-"**_

Everyone around her, in their cars or worse out in the open, all did the same thing she when that trumpeting clap seemed to break the sky apart. They ducked and yelled in fright... scattering like cockroaches in the light. "What the fuck!?" is all Chloe could muster as she jumped in fright and her heart lunged into her throat, forcing her to swallow it down once more before she could do anything else. The radio was scrambled, the noise it emitted was just that- noise. High pitched and mercilessly scratching enough to make her wince.

With a sharp jab Chloe turned off the tortuous radio, feeling queasy for a reason she couldn't fathom as she sat in her cab with blood turning to ice water in her veins. Anxiously her fingers tensed and flexed on the wheel, while her gears in her head turned. It wasn't so much about the news, though she was getting some major 28 Days Later vibes, but more why she felt the way she did. It was a sinking feeling of indeterminate origin that made her feel sick with nerves.

 _It first started after Arcadia Bay... No, nope_. Chloe shook her head, leaping from that train of thought and straight onto another with a finger snap of realization "Shit, yeah!" the punk arched her back, pushing her hips out as she shoved her hand into her pant's ass pocket and yanking out the number Bill gave her after some rummaging- the pockets were surprisingly deep, and spilled old receipts and forgotten cigarette skins before giving up the crumpled digit-bearing paper she sought.

Chloe threw herself back into her seat and got comfy against the door. The traffic was moving nowhere fast, so she figured she may as well get comfy.  _Seriously, what is the hold up?_  She pondered, plucking up her phone from the passenger seat where it had been sat on the off chance Max rang.  _Hmm... so, ring, or call? Choices, choices!_ Chloe punched in the number, but had floated away in thought, thumbing the edge of her phone idly and staring into the middle distance in thought.

It was only when she heard a diminutive voice call out "Hello?" a couple of times did Chloe jerk from her reverie with a start, scrambling in momentary panic as she almost dropped her phone to quickly answer it.  _I must've caught dial- smooth!_

"Hi, Hi there!" Chloe blurted with the hurried pace of an enthusiastic shop assistant "How're you?" Chloe groaned internally.  _Nailed it, Price._

"Who is this? Is this you Mallory? Look I warned you that you might grow unwanted hair, so no refunds!" The voice fell silent when all she could hear was Chloe trying her best not to erupt, choking her chortling to the point snickering passed down the line "...You're not Mallory are you"

"N-no" Chloe spluttered, swallowing her laughter "I'm Chloe... I got your number off Bill"

"Buckshot gave you my digits? Ooh La La... how deliciously unexpected!" the giggle that followed was entirely mischievous "So, how can I, the illustrious Lucky, help you Chloe?"

Price swallowed, wondering how this girl was going to react to what she was going to say... and hoping it wasn't going to be in the same vein as Bill's reaction.

"Still there, ma belle?" Chloe snapped back to reality with the utterance of French...  _Hadn't Max called me that before?_

"Yeah, sorry dude, it's hella busy here" she lied, practically hearing Lucky shrug over the phone "I'm actually calling because I'm looking for someone you know. Alison... She's an old friend, and Bill mentioned she's been gone for a scary amount of time. He pointed me your way, said I'd have hella more  _luck_  speaking to you" Chloe paused to test her shitty pun, and continued the moment she heard the first huff of an unwilling snort "And before you ask, yeah... I am  _that_  Chloe... and I've already had my ass chewed out by Bill- so let's get that out the way right now and talk bidness, alright?" the line was quiet, but Lucky hadn't hung up.  _So that's a good sign._

"So it's you,  _Heartbreakin' Price_  from lil' ol' Arcadia Bay" There was a French twang to her voice that Chloe hadn't noticed before... it was like honey, but her tone was positively vitriolic "You have one minute; by all means, talk your  _bidness,_  s'il vous plait"

Chloe felt her cheeks heat up, one part intimidated, and one part... well, had she been male she may well have crossed her legs. Regardless, she sighed quietly in relief.  _She's giving me a chance... thank fuck. Make it count, Price... god i wish Max could help me out here, she's better appealing to humanity and shit._

"Look... a lot happened between me and Alison. She was hella awesome, but an unbelievable prick when she wanted to be. We got on like a house on fire... but with the shit that happened? Between her and Rach? Well it took a shit on my opinion of Ali, alright? She nearly got my best friend put away... I was so fucking raging that didn't really care Ali had been put away instead... at first, anyway"

Chloe slouched in her chair, already fatiguing... she wasn't good at this stuff, it took a lot out of her to reach in and drag it out without snapping or growing frustrated. Pinching her eyes closed she resisted the urge to mumble, already feeling a minor headache on its way.

"But when she got out? When she came to see me? Fuck... she didn't deserve what happened, and a part of me wishes she had just stayed away. I was so fuckin' enraged all the time... lashing out and shit. I wasn't expecting to see Alison, and I... well, I just lost it. I didn't mean to hurt her, believe me... dude I never meant for-" Chloe stopped for a moment, taking a preventative breath and exhaling the building pressure "-I never meant to hurt her, Lucky. It was an accident. The way it ended, I tried forgetting but it's been nagging back of my mind for months... I just want to say sorry to her, and if she fucking hates me, whatever. Fine. But I gotta find her first, and I figure two heads are better than one"

"You want me to help you look for her?" Lucky asked, quizzically surprised.

"Obviously, dude... 'cause I know you and her were tight"

"And just  _how_  do you know that, mm?"

"Two reasons, sweet cheeks. One, Bill gave me your number... I figure cause you're close just from that, and two, you left stuff at her place. I overheard you this morning, sorry" Chloe wasn't sure what shocked Lucky more, the deigned apology or the admission of snooping- either way, Lucky's flummoxed silence was highly entertaining to Chloe, even more so when the French girl scoffed subtly. Lucky seemed the type seldom speechless "You're her friend... I knew her well enough to know she never really invited people to her place- plus that and she, y'know, she told me so; so that makes you a friend by my mad deduction skills."

Lucky groaned, but she still hadn't hung up... Chloe took a breath "Look... let's help each other out, dude. We can get our Holmes and Clouseau on and find out where she's been these past couple of weeks. We find her and she want's nothing to do with me? Fine. I just want a shot at saying sorry."

There was an almost perfect void of sound on Lucky's end, intensely pensive... but Chloe could hear something faintly. It sounded like chuckling.

"Quite the fiery one aren't you, ma belle?" Chloe rolled her eyes, and Lucky sighed in resignation "Alright, fine. Can you get to Briar Bridge for 7pm tomorrow?"

The reflexive punch of victory upwards left Chloe biting back curses as she buried knuckles into the ceiling,  _fuckityshitbitchorigamiunicorns- my god damn knuckles!_  Nursing her hand in the warmth of her slim blue jean thighs Chloe was resisting the urge to thrash in her seat, and she caught herself silently nodding; with an exaggerated roll of her eyes she scoffed at her own idiocy "I think that'll be fine- you got a place in mind?" voice hushed with teeth drying hisses of pain suppression.

Lucky's velvety laugh filled the call "More than one, but I'll text you the address of my choice later. Au revoir, Chloe... and for future reference? I maybe French, but you're the Clouseau in this partnership" the mwah of a kiss blown was the last thing Chloe heard before the line went dead, leaving her alone once more.

Flinging her phone up onto the dashboard Chloe proceed to shout a cuss so loudly a nearby pedestrian gawked at the punk, aghast, and hurriedly covered her child's ear and rushed on in shock. Chloe didn't notice, sadly... to busy cursing with muted fury.

 _Oh thank fuck, hella took its time!_  Shaking out the last degree of unbearable pain Chloe grasped the gear, watching with no small amount of relief as the traffic finally seemed to move, uncoiling like a spring as the weight lifted. She followed the trickle of cars eagerly, passing an ambulance parked by a crash, and breathing easy as the roads seemed to clear up immediately after the macabre visual.

The scene was closed off with police tape, but it did little to hide the scene illuminated in the crimsons and azures of the flashing soundless sirens; a car buried up to the doors into a nearby wall, shattered glass everywhere, and the briefest glance of a gurney being loaded by paramedics. There was no blood, though perhaps she passed too quickly to see that in the dim light of the nasty weather... which seemed to cast a shadow over the entire area. Chloe was glad to be past it regardless and back on open roads so to speak, but glanced back at the wreck while she still could for a moment... remembering the reports of phenomenon from earlier. Turning her eyes back ahead Chloe cleared her mind.

_Nearly home now, Max. Nearly home._

* * *

The drive did not last long, five minutes at the most, now that the traffic had released Chloe from its tyrannous grip. The neighborhood she now called home was a welcome sight as she drove into it, the familiar setting instantly unknotted a ball of stress Chloe wasn't even aware she had until it was gone, and she rolled her now liberated shoulders in tingly glee.

It was quaint, even in the midst of grey skies and heavy rain it was still a pretty place to Chloe anyway, even if Max was less enthused about it. Unlike Arcadia Bay it was a decidedly modern area, sleek in its design, with a splash of nature... a few trees and charming lawns. Chloe supposed it was this difference, this big city versus small town aesthetic, which fueled her initial and persistent liking of the place- whereas Max had simply gotten used to it.

But truth be told, the main reason she loved this neighborhood? This was her home with Max. The place where the two of them lived under the same roof; their sanctuary and fortress. They had come a long way from pirate ship couches and tree houses. Chloe smiled with goofy abandon, and she relished it as she always did; because until Max, she rightfully couldn't remember how long it had been since she smiled that way. Max made her feel like she had no worries, not even Rachel could pull that off...  _Honestly, she caused hella more worries than she made vanish... sorry Rach, but you know you were a total diva when you wanted to be._

A nostalgic and somber smile crept on Chloe's features as she slowed her truck, pulling up outside the Caulfield house as she idly spied a black Subaru turn a corner and disappear. The rain did not one let up one bit when Chloe cut the engine and clambered out her four wheeled shelter, rather it pelted her mercilessly until it drove her into the house with a loud whooshing of the wind at her back. Immediately she unzipped that coat, letting her chest breathe.

_Thank fuck, I'm home! A new record of lateness but- Ah!_

In a tangle of limbs Chloe yelped in surprise as smaller brown haired form plowed into her like a bus, and falling back against the door and body slamming it shut. Warm arms slipped into the open parka, wrapping Chloe up tightly in a longing hug.  _Damn Maximillian! For a little thing you always surprise me with how damn strong you are!_ After a moment of surprised pause, Chloe burst into a giggle... nuzzling the sweet smelling nest of silken brunette hair squeezed in under her chin "I'd hug you but I'm all wet... and sadly not in the good wayyyooouuuuhhhey there Ryan!"

"Afternoon, Chloe. How is Joyce?" Ryan called as he emerged at the bottom of the hall, the corner of his lip subtly curling upwards.  _I hope he didn't hear that, oh god just mercy kill me if he did._  Max was trying her hardest not to laugh, Chloe could hear the freckled menace snickering as she slowly peeled herself from the hug and took her time locking up. Keeping what was no doubt an impish grin hidden away.

"Uh, yeah, she's pretty great... Working at a new Diner now, Wormwood's. It pretty amazeballs- i mean, it's pretty great" Ryan smiled faintly and nodded.

"That's in Briar Bridge right? Rough place... but she always was a tough one" Ryan smiled "Still, i'm glad she's found something. When you two are ready, come in the kitchen... I have some news"

"...News?" Chloe asked Max quietly as she hung up her coat, but not before giving the chuckling Caulfield a playfully indignant shove "Also, asshole. Didn't know your Dad was down the hall"

Max smiled up at Chloe, her hands bunching up the bottom of her huge sleep shirt that hung oh so delightfully off that fair freckled shoulder.  _Fuck me... she's so beautiful._

"Hellooooo? First Mate to Captain Price, can you read me?" Chloe's features creased with an flustered grin, cheeks glowing pink. Max reached up for Chloe's hat, getting up on her tippy toes to reach the taller girl... who craned slightly backwards teasingly before letting the brunette take it "Zoning out is usually my thing"

Chloe shrugged nonchalantly "I think you're rubbing off on me. Don't ask me how I said that without immature giggling"

Max rolled her eyes, trying not to show her amusement.

"So, news? Everything alright?" The subconscious rubbing of her arm betrayed Max to Chloe in an instant, and the blue haired girl's eyes narrowed "Max?"

"Dad hasn't said anything yet, he's been waiting for us both to be home" Chloe knew what Max was doing, and perking an impatient brow at the brunette, Max grumbled "And... I had an attack today, nothing serious"

Chloe turned to Max after throwing a wary glance up the hall, interlacing her fingers with her girlfriend's and giving them an affectionate squeeze "Shit... i-it wasn't 'cause i was late was it...?"

"N-No!" Max blurted, instinctively snapping her gaze up the hall for any sign of her father... only looking back when she was content he was staying put with a small sigh of appreciation. There was no faulting Ryan, he valued his daughter's privacy.  _If only Madsen could'a been then same._

"No... I think it was just the weather, it's... it's rather..."

"Arcadia-esque?"

Max didn't reply, and she didn't have to. Chloe knew exactly... because they were on the same wavelength, and she vaguely nodded in understanding. They were both connected and sharing the same foreboding feeling coiling in their guts like a horned snake, it just manifested differently.

Chloe took Max's cheeks in her hands, stroking those enchanting freckles with her thumbs in the way she knew Max loved... she could already feel the brunette easing into her palms.

"It's just bad weather, Super Max... it'll pass, i'm hella sure of it" Price leaned in and pressed soft lips to Max's forehead, feeling those delicate fingers happily coil their frail lengths about her hands and pry them away. But never letting go. "I got you, okay?"

"I know you do... anyway, we should go see Dad- we're hella mushy mushy right now"

Chloe's mouth fell open in surprise, a laugh rolling free of her chest "You utter pirate! That's my line!"

Max smirked a little, rolling her shoulders with all the nonchalant air she could muster ""I think you're rubbing off on me""

"...Did you just quote me back to me? You did didn't you?" Max shook her head with a smirk on her lips, mouthing 'oh em gee' as she lead Chloe towards the kitchen door "Got some brass ones on you Ultra Max"

Together they entered the kitchen to find Ryan alone, leaning against the sink waiting for them. The air in here was significantly cooler than the hall had been, lacking in a certain something. Max and Chloe shared a look of mutual concern, hiding their entwined pinkies as they sat themselves down at the breakfast bar and waited for Ryan to speak.

Which he did not do for a good minute... lost to his own thoughts. His eyes were intense and buried in the floor, pensive and sharp. Whatever was on his mind? It had begun to make Chloe edgy... and as she cast Max a sidelong glance, feeling that hand tighten around her own, she knew Max was beginning to feel the same.

"Dad?" Ryan looked up, forcing a smile "What's... What's the news?"

"Yo Ryan, you okay dude?"  _I don't like this..._

"Me and the Sarge looked into what you asked me to, Max... I'm presuming Chloe knew about this?"

The words dredged Chloe's heart into her throat again, this time, it her turn to squeeze Max's hand behind the bar top... and unable to speak, she nodded as she swallowed. He merely hummed quietly.

"Well... it's chaos down there, even more so now worryingly. Nicholson and I dug around, spoke to the locals, pulled a few strings. But..."

_But? What fucking but?_

"But what, Ryan don't leave us hanging here" Chloe's voice nervously wavered slightly. Ryan looked at her... and the sympathetic look in his eyes wounded her.

"...But it's not all good news; so we'll start with it. In cooperation with what local police there were still around, we managed to relocate the Dark Room located under the broken remnants of an old barn. We discovered dozens of red binders... each one filled with material I hope I never live to see the like of again. We found Rachel's binder too... albeit with a few images missing. In the eyes of the law, Mark Jefferson is now officially a criminal" Something passes over Ryan then like a shadow, a memory bubbling up behind his eyes... briefly filling them with the coal fire glow of anger, which he bitterly swallows. Max and Chloe both feel the tension in their chest loosen, sharing a glance and the weakest of smiles...  _this was progress, right? It has to be... that slimy fucker is gonna burn for what he did to Rachel... and to Max._

"Now... the bad news. I'm sorry..." Both girl's eyes attention was immediately held to ransom... their hearts squeezing hard in their chests.

"We've got the Dark Room, we got the binders... but, but... goddamn it. But we tore that Junkyard apart, sniffer dogs, the works... all we found was a hole in the ground. The body of Rachel Amber is missing."

Blood thundered in Chloe's ears, damn near drowning out Max entirely as the watery eyed girl wrapped her up in those loving arms. Was she trying to tell Chloe it would be okay? Was that it?

_After all that, after surviving the storm, after everything... we still couldn't... we still couldn't get her justice. I'm sorry Rachel, I'm so fucking useless..._

"There's more... but I think it should wait..." Ryan couldn't look at them, unable to bear the vision of the misery his daughter and her bestfriend were in now. But it was Chloe's voice that yanked his gaze back with a simple two letter word. No.

"No... finish. What's the rest?"

"Chloe... Maybe Dad's right... we should wait, this is... wowser I can't begin to imagine... wouldn't waiting be better?"

When Max shrank from Chloe's look, Price knew she had given the brunette too harsh of an eye... but she was hurting, not fully in control. She had let Rachel down again... and she had to know it all now.

"What's the rest of it?"

Ryan took a deep lungful of air, and nodded... and clearing his throat, put on his professional voice like donning a set of armor... to separate himself from the displeasure of the news to come.

"We have been so far unable to confirm the status of Mark Jefferson, as there has been no confirmation of his body. We confirmed he escaped custody of police not long after being detained, and in light of that, he is now being considered at large... until he is either caught, or pulled out the ruins. I'm sorry... Max, Chloe... Truly, I am..."

Long after Ryan shamefully excused himself, Max and Chloe sat there in that kitchen together in mutual silence... not knowing what to say to each other in the face of such news. Instead they just held one another, clutching tight... protecting the one good thing in their lives.


End file.
